Obituary for
Colleen Jackson (Sabastian)
Barbara Colleen (Sabiston) Jackson, known to all as Colleen, was born on June 25, 1946 in Wadena, SK to Haskell and Betty Sabiston. Her parents were ecstatic to welcome a cute, blonde curly haired girl to the family. However, it wasn’t long before they found out that their “Eenie” was a real go-getter. A tomboy at heart, she soon gave up her frilly dresses for jeans tied with rope and her dolls for rough-housing and raft-building. Colleen grew up on a farm near Bankend, SK until her high school years at which time her family moved to Regina. After graduation, she began her career with the Royal Bank. She married Mel Jackson on July 15, 1967 in Regina. The newlyweds then relocated to Saskatoon in 1968, where their oldest daughter, Barbara, was born. In 1971, they once again moved, this time to Kamloops, BC. Colleen continued to advance her career with the Royal Bank. In 1973, her second daughter Laureen was born.
In December of 1974, the family moved to Esterhazy. Colleen continued to work at the Royal Bank for a short time, but was unhappy with a small branch and had to take a demotion. She then worked at Diamalloy Jewellery until the spring of 1976, when she opened the very first convenience store in Esterhazy. The store was a great success until it closed in 1986. It was then that She thought she could now enjoy her hobbies, such as plant and vegetable gardening, golfing, curling and numerous crafts.
It did not take Colleen long to realize she needed a new challenge and soon obtained her real estate license. A short time later, she went to work at the Centennial Special Care Home as dietary aid. In 1991, she obtained her Special Care Aide certificate and worked with residents until lung cancer forced her to retire in 1999.
It had always been Colleen’s dream to live on an acreage and, in 2008, it became a reality when they moved to Lemberg. She worked vigorously and without end in the yard during the summer and, when it became too cold for that, renovated and redecorated indoors. It wasn’t too often that she didn’t have some sort of project on the go.
She loved painting, crafts, flowers and landscaping, antiques, camping, fishing or even just sitting outside with a hot cup of coffee listening to birds. Colleen was an avid fan of the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Saskatchewan Roughriders, but she was a die hard fan of her five grandchildren and was there to cheer them on at their events. Colleen has a beautiful black lab named Willow Cree (Willy). She loved every minute with her “baby” and you could often find the two walking together all over that acre and a half, checking every stone, gopher hole, bird and flower.
Colleen leaves to cherish her memory her husband of 46 years, Mel; daughters Barb (Wayne) Mountain and Laureen Jackson; grandchildren Meleody, Tyler, Jaycie, Kaeden and Clay; sister Heather (Ross) MacQueen; sister-in-law Vel Samletzki; plus numerous nieces, nephews, cousins, close friends and, of course, Willy.
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