Mother, grandmother, aunt, friend, Ileen Mackenzie passed away Tuesday, Sept 7, 2021 in Saskatoon. She was born on the Bryson family farm at Carlea, Saskatchewan October 2 1931 and was the youngest of her family. After attending school in Carlea and Aylsham, Ileen moved to Nipawin to work for SaskTel. Ileen worked in many small towns for SaskTel while raising Colleen as a single mom which was not easy back then. They eventually settled in Prince Albert where Ileen worked as Assistant Chief Operator until she retired in 1986. Her former operators describe her as a “manager ahead of her time” and that she was like a mother to many of them. She was so happy to attend the SaskTel reunion in 2014 and see all “her girls” again!
Ileen moved to Saskatoon in 2011 to be closer to Colleen, and her grandsons, Ryan and Thomas. She was so proud of them and so happy to be part of their lives. But she never forgot Prince Albert, her house and her friends.
Ileen loved gardening, cooking and baking, watching Rider games, and anything to do with her grandsons. No one could make ribs like Grandma! She attended many school programs and football games to watch Ryan and Thomas. She was a rock for Colleen and will be deeply missed.
Left to treasure Ileen’s memory are her daughter, Colleen Mackenzie Lemke; grandsons, Ryan and Thomas Kostiuk; nephews, Don (Mary Anne) McLean, Gary McLean, Vernon Danielson, and Ernie Little; nieces Joan Nickel, Sharon Tromblay, Carole (Dale) Haight, Gail (Brian) Skidmore, Donna Danielson (John), and Elsie Cooper; as well as her dear friends, Andrea Skiftun, Lisa Berg-Kolody, Christel Kostiuk and Mary van Meegen. Ileen was predeceased by her parents, Maud and John Bryson; her brothers Earl and Reg Bryson; sisters Mary McLean, Inez Danielson, Lila Bryson, and infant Dora; son-in-law Dale Lemke; and nieces and nephews.