The late Gerri Teppema was recently honoured for the 46 years of her life she dedicated to being the Horsefly Lake Provincial Park operator.
Her family, Horsefly community members, friends, employers and guests who visited the park over the years, gathered on Sunday, Aug. 4, 2024, to celebrate her legacy.
Gerri saw many generations of families enjoy the park and had many long-time friends from the "wonderful experiences she created for families through the years, receiving hundreds of Christmas cards, birth announcements, graduation picture from many of her tourist families," said her daughter Theresa Teppema.
Senior Park Ranger Maxwell Goldman and Gerri's son Leonard Teppema unveiled a plaque set on a large quartz rock at the park that came from GT Ranch, a ranch which Gerri and her husband Ron built from the ground up.
Both the rock and a bench were placed at the beach near the crab apple tree so Gerri "can forever look out watching her tourist family and the many children playing and swimming and yelling at people for having dogs on the beach," Theresa said.
Gerri left a long lasting legacy on not just Horsefly Provincial Park, but the guests who visited as well, Goldman said.
"Multiple generations of families were fortunate to experience her thoughtfulness, kindness and the pride she took in her work," he said, noting Gerri was not only an exemplary park operator, but ambassador for the park and surrounding area.
"Her loss has been felt by all, but especially to those who became her annual guests over her 46 year career in Horsefly Lake."
Bryan Williams of Silvertip Park Services became her boss after park operators were employed by contractors.
He said whenever he was at the park, his conversations with Gerri were dominated by business, even though he would have rather spent time getting to know the Gerri everyone loved and cherished.
"She loved the park and it showed," he said. "The campers at Horsefly Lake also loved her. She had this unique ability to keep the rules of the park enforced and everyone happy and laughing.. a very unique talent indeed."
Theresa said her mom loved her job at the park and was always going above and beyond what she was actually paid to do.
In her own time and costs she added items such as extra flowers, a basketball hoop, a horseshoe pit and a tether ball.
Each start of the season Theresa helped paint and rake leaves. Leonard assessed danger trees and his wife Jennifer helped - even being Jerry the Moose on several occasions.
Her grandchildren, Maria and Jack, were helpers as well.
"Gerri had many battles with geese on the beach, filling milk jugs and putting eyes on them so geese would think they could not land on the beach," Theresa recalled. "She even tried sewing a mannequin with a red dress. She said you had to think like a goose. This helped a bit, but it was a losing battle and she was always poop scooping in the morning so tourists would not sit on goose poop."
The plaque on the rock bears a poem, penned by Theresa, with words perhaps spoken by Gerri.
A child’s laughter at play, a tourist’s awakening from their slumber and off in the distance a low rumbling of thunder.
I could not stay for another day to enjoy goods times, friendships shared, to laugh, to work or play.
Tasks left undone must stay that way.
My life’s been full – do not remember me in sorrow, remember me as the sunshine of tomorrow.
