Alice Fern (McKenzie) Yarshenko

Alice Fern Yarshenko was born on April 22 1933 to Amelia and John (Jack) Mckenzie, the youngest of 11 children. She passed away May 11, 2022 at the age of 89. 

Fern was predeceased by all of her siblings, Bill, Nellie, Jack, May, Don, Ted, Fred, Robert, Dave and Angus. 

She said jokingly that her family played a lot of baseball so her father was disappointed when she, the last born was a girl. He was one short of a baseball team. She was also predeceased by her husband George in February of 2019. 

When Fern was born her family was living on the ranch. Her father passed away when she was very young. She started school at Cypress School, not far from her home. She was only there for grade one, then moving into Maple Creek with her mother. She attended Jasper Street school which held Grade 1-12 at the time. She was a good student and designed the school crest which was used until recently, when the MCHS name changed. 

She could cook, bake, sew, can, garden, craft, design costumes, quilt, make saddle blankets, refinish furniture, construct fabulous gingerbread houses and make lifelike miniature rail corrals. Basically, she did everything! She taught us there was nothing we couldn’t do, and fully expected success. 

Fern married George Yarshenko in April of 1950 and they took over her parent’s ranch. She is survived by four children, Gail Russell, Clint Yarshenko, Clay Yarshenko and Marcia Yarshenko. She is also survived by 7 grandchildren, Lee and Braden Russell, Damon, Darian, and Hannah Yarshenko, Amelia Yarshenko, and Ryatt Bayne, as well as 8 great grandchildren, Leland and Leighton Russell, Jose, Lincoln, Ben, and Isabelle Yarshenko, Treyton and Carter Pearson as well as many nieces and nephews. We will all miss her dearly. 

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