Faye Leona Albert, 93, of Sweet Home, died on Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2009.
Mrs. Albert was born in Grand Prairie, Alberta, Canada, to Otto W. and Pearl (Dove) Slater on July 27, 1916.
Mrs. Albert and her family came to Oregon in 1919, and she spent the remainder of her life here.
She was one of 17 children and although poor by financial standards, her close-knit family was rich in the things that mattered.
Work was a natural part of Mrs. Albert’s everyday life. As a child she had not only her personal chores to do but was given almost total responsibility for caring for a new baby, her sister, Dorothy.
Even though Faye grew up in difficult and challenging financial times, she shared many wonderful memories of family life on the Middle Fork and her beloved Fern Hill.
Family, friends, and neighbors often gathered together for the normal celebrations of life (weddings, birthdays, funerals, etc.) and also for the sheer pleasure of being together and enjoying each other’s company.
Faye was a “lifelong learner.” She continued her quest for knowledge her entire life. Books and reading were important to her. A basket of books she was reading at the time of her death still sit by her chair (along with her mending basket).
Education was such a priority in her life that she ventured away from her rural life to live in the city as “hired help” in order to finish her high school diploma.
After meeting, being avidly courted by and marrying her husband, John T. Albert, Mrs. Albert reluctantly moved to Portland.
She enjoyed the years there and appreciated the new experiences of city life and the close friendships formed.
She joined with many other women of her generation as a factory worker during the war years.
During her time in Portland, she embarked on her most important mission in life, that of being a mother.
She excelled at the job of being a mother. Her children can talk for hours about how much fun she was, what a sense of humor, her practical jokes, her cooking, how she supported them, and made them feel loved and so special.
Mrs. Albert is survived by her children, Tom (JoAnn) of Sweet Home, Donald James “Jim” (Mary) Albert of Sublimity, Janice Albert (life partner Terry Lovely) of Sweet Home, and Susan Albert of Eugene; sisters, Gertie Nye, Jean Robinson, Doris Slater, Shirley Anderson and Gayle Thomas; brother, Caryl Slater; seven grandchildren; 14 great-grandchildren; and 10 great-great -grandchildren.
Faye was preceded by her husband, John T. Albert in 1998; her parents; and 10 siblings.
Memorial services were held on Dec. 28 at the Sweet Home Evangelical Church.
Sweet Home Funeral Chapel handled the arrangements.