STOUGHTON - Agnes Fraser wore a soft pink dress and felt like a queen on Nov. 4 when she celebrated her 90th birthday with her family and friends at the Stoughton branch of the Royal Canadian Legion.
Fraser’s family held a tea party for her, and she did not want the day to end. The crowd grew as the afternoon continued.
Fraser was born in Dand, Man. She said the town was exceedingly small and is no longer there. At the age of eight, her parents and four siblings moved to Forget.
She attended the St. Joseph’s convent school, which was located across the street from the Catholic Church in Forget.
Years later, Fraser would meet her husband Delbert. They were married in 1951 and moved to a farm southeast of Stoughton. Their home was built in 1916 by Sam Richardson.
They raised their nine children on this farm. Fraser said they had a mixed farm with cattle and grain, with a huge garden. She preserved 500-600 quarts of fruits and vegetables in a season. They had dairy cows, and she churned their own butter and sold the cream.
Fraser is not sure how she got all that work done, but it would somehow always work out.
They were married for 63 wonderful years until Delbert passed away in 2014. He had been in the New Hope Pioneer Lodge for 12 years due to a stroke.
Over the years, Agnes Fraser was a member of the Stoughton Agricultural Society and a member of the Stoughton Housing Authority for 20 years.
She still attends the Stoughton Drop-in Centre to celebrate birthdays on the second Friday of every month.
The Apostolic Church is a big part of Fraser’s life, and she feels strongly that keeping prayer and the Lord in your marriage makes for a healthy marriage with great values.
Fraser spoke very highly of her adult children, which were all in attendance for her special day. A few came from B.C. to attend. Her daughter Gail Cooney passed away in 2017 of a heart attack but Fraser felt her presence.
Nathalie, one of her daughters, made a delicious meal, according to the 90-year-old. She did have family help in preparing the meal.
Her daughter-in-law Carrie and granddaughter made the goodies for the tea party, which had a vast selection.
Fraser is the last of her four siblings still alive, but several of her nieces and nephews came to celebrate with their aunty.
Five generations were present that day, which the birthday girl loved. She has 29 grandchildren, 49 great-grandchildren and 4 great-great-grandchildren.
She is very thankful to all her family and friends that made her feel like a queen. She is grateful to the caring children she has and feels so blessed to be so close to them.
Fraser said she has had a very blessed life. She has many wonderful people in her life and has felt a great deal of love over the years.