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Life begins at 80

Wilfred J. Leboe

Recently, I was thinking about my good friends, George and Nettie Voth. I got to know them when they moved to Vernon, B.C. 30 years ago. In 1969, they left farming in Vanderhoof, B.C. and moved into a little cottage on my 11-acre property in Vernon. George was a hardworking and thrifty man. I remember him repairing an old diesel engine to irrigate a newly planted orchard George was taking care of for me. Later, George built our family home for us. Working through the winter, he finished it in June 1973.


Thinking about the Voths gave me such a good feeling, I decided to pay them a visit in their new home in Chimney Valley, B.C. I took the bus from Vernon, and George picked me up at the bus depot in Williams Lake. Talking and laughing as in the old times, we drove to their new lakeside home.

The Voths have been living here for seven years now. In 1991, they sold their home in Clearbrook, B.C. and bought a lot here. George was happy for the change and the challenge, but Nettie was apprehensive. They had been living in Clearbrook since George had turned 65 in 1977. There they had worked as volunteers for Mennonite Central Committee. Besides repairing things, George had made grandfather clocks and Nettie had helped make quilts for MCC sales.

Their work in Clearbrook was suddenly interrupted in 1988, when Nettie was diagnosed with cancer.

After the initial shock, George started reading up on the disease. As he studied the symptoms, he became more observant of his own health. Visits to the doctor, tests and a biopsy revealed that he, too, had cancer. Shock upon shock. Now they were in the hospital together, both having surgery. Each was fitted with a colostomy before being sent home to recuperate.

Concerned for their parents, the Voths’ sons thought they should get together and build them a home close to family so there would be help nearby for them. So, George and Nettie bought a lot next to their son Levi on Chimney Lake.

Levi and his brothers Harvey and Rodney worked together until the home was roughed in and ready for the finishing work. George insisted on taking over at this point. And Nettie couldn’t just stand by. She took on the landscaping, including the planting of shrubs and masses of flowers along the stone path which welcomes visitors to the front door. George did the finish carpentry and built himself a workshop in the basement. Later, he built a half-sized barn that he uses as a garage and a storage barn for the old tractors he restores to look like new.

When I arrived for my visit, the air seemed clean and still, except for the hornets and birds fighting over the sweet nectar in the feeder. As I looked toward the lake from the patio, I could see George’s prized windmill standing like a guard over the landscape.

Saturday was nearly spent when the smell of borscht simmering on the stove caught my attention. Their hospitality wouldn’t be complete without the traditional Mennonite soup and zwieback. What an enjoyable and satisfying day with my good friends!

George and Nettie reminisced about the drama that had brought them to where they are today. They moved here to live beside Levi so he could offer them help and support, but the bomb dropped soon after they got settled. It was discovered that Levi also had cancer. What an ironic reversal! So Nettie and George found themselves looking after Levi. Thanks to the Lord, Levi recovered in a couple years and is working again.

George and Nettie hardly spoke of their battle with cancer. They still seemed excited when they talked of building their new home. It had to be very hard work, but they made it sound like fun. Nettie loves the gazebo George built for her. Surrounded by an array of beautiful flowers, it’s where Nettie stops for tea and rest while she’s tending her 50-by-100 foot vegetable garden. Sometimes she and George have their breakfast out there in the morning sun. They have put rows of watering taps in the garden. It’s a great irrigation system, but it doesn’t outdo their mowing system that keeps the grass trimmed. Their two goats are perfect for the job, and the bonus is that they supply the Voths with milk.

It’s hard for me to imagine how they did all they did at their age. They both were fighting cancer and dealing with colostomies. Nettie was 79 and George was 81 when they left Clearbrook. The courage of this couple is astounding.

The evening had slipped away. I settled down with the lulling cry of a loon fading into the night. Soon I was in a deep sleep.

Morning came all too soon, but the smell of coffee and breakfast was irresistible. Nettie and George were ready for church, so after breakfast they dropped me at the bus depot on their way. George was looking younger than his 88 years, and Nettie looked sweet in her Sunday dress and broad-brimmed hat. As we said our goodbyes, I said, “God bless you, my friends.”

It had been a very fulfilling visit. Riding back to Vernon, I reflected on last night’s conversation. Nettie, smiling, said: “These seven years have been the best years of my life.”

George and Nettie Voth were born in Reinland, Man. They married in 1934. After farming for some years, they moved to Vanderhoof, B.C. in 1957. George was active in the Gideons. They had five sons. (Menno, a pilot with Mission Aviation Fellowship, was killed in a plane crash in 1968.)

Wilfred J. Leboe of Vernon, B.C., turns 81 in March 2000. He came to faith as a young man and was in the sawmill business east of Prince George, B.C. for many years, where he built a chapel for Shantymen missionaries. He has only one hand and is legally blind, but wrote this article on his computer a year ago.

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Last modified May 4, 2000.

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