Doris Luverne (Jones) Henke

Obituary for Doris Luverne Henke
November 7, 1932 – December 3, 2025

How do you encapsulate the stories of a life of 93 years into the limitations of an obituary? You don’t. To do so misses so much of whom Doris Luverne Henke was. To friends and neighbours over the course of her life she was a loyal friend, the keeper of the histories of her family, and of life on the farm of her parents, Annie and Earl Jones, and the Science Mound district southeast of Donalda where she was born on November 7, 1932, and was raised. It was a time during the dirty 30’s and beyond that few of us have direct knowledge of but that she, along with her five living sisters, knew well. Out houses and chamber pots, heat from a wood stove in the living room, love and struggles to survive and thrive in a home swelling with first Doris, followed by Evelyn, Muriel, the twins Inez and Irene and finally, Heather, all adding to her capacity to grow in both heart and mind. Doris’s story continued when she fell in love with Fred Henry Henke and married him in November of 1950. There’s was a union that lasted for 65 years until Fred’s passing in 2015. Her story became their story as they began life in the little house on the prairie in the same yard as Fred’s parents. It was a time of joy but with initial trials like no running water or flush toilets, raising first Shirley Mae and then Warren in a 1950’s farm house where baths were once a week on Saturday nights before going into Donalda to the Blue Mill Café for ice cream. It was also a story of progress as she and Fred built their new home and created a new farmstead across the road, developing a yard and garden the rival of any. The story of their lives continued through the arrival of grandchildren, Kevin, Danny, and Cindy, small businesses that supplemented the farm, becoming campground managers at Pelican Point on Buffalo Lake, reveling in the joy of the 19th Hole at the Bashaw golf course and growing their love to encompass their expanding family including grandchildren Stonewall, Christopher, Lorelei, Trey and Dimitri. The last years of their story saw them retire from the farm to Donalda, then to Bashaw with Fred’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis and finally to Brooks, Alberta, where they both resided with family near them to the end. And, although Doris’s life here on earth ended on December 3, 2025, her story is far from over. She leaves to mourn three of her seven sisters, her daughter and son and their families, grandchildren, great grandchildren and great-great grandchildren, numerous nieces and nephews as well as old and new friends. In support of Doris’s wishes, there will be no funeral. Instead, the family will hold a graveside service on December 11th, 2025 at 2:00 p.m. at the Donalda Cemetery with the hopes of furthering her legacy of shared stories in the basement of the Donalda Hall for a luncheon following the service. All are welcome to attend.

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