Orvina Mathilde (Mellom) Black

Orvina Mathilde Black (nee Mellom), of Oxbow, SK, reached out and caught a handful of stars on Sunday, September 8, 2019. She was 98 years old.

Orvina was born to Selma and Julius Mellom in the family farmhouse near Northgate, SK, on June 19, 1921. She was the fourth youngest of a family of 15. Mom was a horsewoman, piano player, school teacher, wife, and mother. She met Ray Black at the dance pavilion in Oxbow, and even though, as Dad informed Mom, he ‘usually crossed the street when he saw a teacher coming,’ they married in 1946. They began their married life on the west coast, but soon returned to the prairies and raised a family of five on a small ranch east of Northgate.

Our mother excelled at life. Besides her lively personality, she was known for her love of horses – she disliked saddles and rode bareback when rounding up cattle; her playing and teaching piano – she played by ear and by note; her teaching – she started in one-room schoolhouses throughout the district and retired from Oxbow Elementary School in 1982; and her volunteer work – in 2005 she was awarded a Saskatchewan Centennial Medal for voluntarism and community involvement. Mom was a very busy lady until she moved out of her house and into the Bow Valley Villa at 88. A force of nature who survived breast cancer at 97, Orvina continued to enjoy playing piano until a few days before her death from heart failure. With great effort, and with her eyes communicating her depth of feeling, Orvina’s last words were, “Love. Love. Love.”

Orvina is survived by her son Wayne (Sharryn); her son Trevor; her daughter Noela Crowe-Salazar; her daughter-in-law Tami Scott (Ian); her brother Norton Mellom; her sister Audrey Wood; five grandchildren: Landys (Paul) Jorundson, Kyla Craig, Jasmine Beriault (Zachary Shaw), Skyler Crowe-Salazar, Alexa Crowe-Salazar; four great-grandchildren; chosen grandchildren: Ali Scott and Mason Scott; and almost as many nephews, nieces, and extended family as gophers in the east pasture.

She was predeceased by her husband Ray; her daughter LaVonne; her son Orvin; her parents, Julius and Selma Mellom; and twelve siblings.

The funeral service was held at St. Peter Lutheran Church, Oxbow on Friday, September 13, 2019 at 2:00 p.m. with Pastor Jason Schultz officiating. The interment followed at the Kopperud Cemetery.

Donations in memory of Orvina can be directed to the Bow Valley Villa, Box 207, Oxbow, SK. S0C 2B0.

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