- Trailblazers
- 1930
- Marlene (Rewers) Sudeyko
Marlene Rewers was born in London, England, on September 23, 1933. As a young girl growing up during World War II, she experienced the horrific nightly bombing raids of the Blitz. It was during these war years that her mother married a Canadian Merchant Marine from British Columbia, causing Marlene and her younger sister to be relocated to Canada in 1945. Marlene and her sister made this journey from England, first by ship to Pier 21 in Halifax, and then by railacross the country to Fernie, B.C., where her stepfather’s family resided.
Initially, she was a reluctant Canadian, not wanting to leave her native England. She often recounted how she thought that this new country of Canada would never end, as she made her way by rail across from Halifax to Fernie. It was so wide open and cold compared to her native England.
However, her time in Fernie was brief, as the family reunified following the end of thewar and soon relocated to Burnaby, B.C. This is where she established her Canadian identity, graduating from Burnaby North High in 1951.
After a few years of living in downtown Vancouver, Marlene heard the call of the Yukon from friends who had relocated there. They were attracted by the work opportunities provided by the Army. It was her intent to stay for only a short time but, like so many Yukoners, weeks turned into months and months into years.
Soon after her arrival Marlene met her future husband, Peter Sudeyko, who had also recently arrived in the Yukon from the family farm in Alberta. Peter grew up on the farm but did not see that as his future. There was plenty of work for young men at that time with the Army in Whitehorse.
Marriage and family soon followed. Originally living in downtown Whitehorse, Marlene and Pete were able to move into Army accommodations at Camp Takhini. As the family grew, so didtheir needs and they took advantage of property being offered on the Alaska Highway in Porter Creek. This is where they ultimately raised their family on Centennial Street.
Marlene’s early years of marriage were dedicated to the needs of her family, and much time was spent driving the kids to and from Whitehorse as they were very active in many sports. By then Pete had become the Fuller Brushman for the Yukon, which demanded that he spend a lot of time on the road serving the territory’s many remote communities.
Despite the everyday demands of life, they enjoyed an active social life as did so many of their Yukon friends. As the kids grew, Marlene was able to find more time to focus on her interests and that ultimately led her back to the workforce as opposed to the demands of motherhood.
Originally, she began working for the Yukon Territorial Government and then the Yukon Teacher’s Association. This was followed by F.H. Collins and then the Vocational School/Yukon College. She thoroughly enjoyed the work she did and the new friends she created along the way.
While the winters were long, cold and dark, only broken up by Rendezvous, summers were meant to be enjoyed and many camping trips were taken to friends’ cottages at Marsh and Tagish Lakes. Then came more extended forays to Alaska and outside to Alberta and British Columbia.Plane trips were a rarity in those days and there are many family memories of driving the dusty Alaska Highway in a van with four kids, no seatbelts and plenty of cigarettes. A different time.
Marlene became an avid curler and a member of many organizations in Whitehorse such as: BetaSigma Phi, the Canadian Cancer Society and Yukon Hospice. As the kids became older both Marlene and Pete were able to expand their horizons and travel further abroad, joining the exodus of Yukoners in the winter to such locales as Mexico and Hawaii.
In 1997, her husband, Peter, suffered a major stroke and Marlene’s life changed dramatically as she readjusted everything to take care of him. As Peter was no longer able to function as the head of the household Marlene took over the reins with a quiet determination. She focused her efforts on Pete’s recovery and organized a move to a new wheelchair-friendly house in Copper Ridge where she could better take care of him. Those were challenging years but she surprised herself with her reserve of energy in carrying out this task. It was evident from the look in Pete’s eyes that he was eternally grateful for her care and dedication.
Pete passed away in 2005 and Marlene entered a new stage of her life. By that time, all of her children had left the Yukon and she was alone, although with many friends. She enjoyed those years, travelling to many far flung places with Yukon friends, including throughout Canada twice a year to visit with family, which extended from Vancouver all the way to Halifax.
As the years passed, and with the family still spread across Canada, Marlene realized that in order to prepare herself for her final years she needed and wanted to be closer to family. After several years of deliberation, she finally made the decision to leave the Yukon in 2013, and moved to Toronto to be closer to her eldest son Bob. Her son, Rick, and daughter, Barbara, were not far away in Gatineau and Christmases were shared between the two locations.
But she was not without her secrets; in 2018, a few years prior to her death, a big secret was revealed to the family. There was another sibling that none of the family had known about. When Marlene was about 19 and had only been in the Yukon a short time, she became pregnant. Peter was the father. It was 1955 and while Peter offered to marry her, in the end they decided that the baby would be put up for adoption. No one knew, and Marlene flew to Vancouver to have her baby girl who was with her for five days before being adopted to a loving family. Marlene returned to the Yukon after the birth, and ultimately reunited with Peter.
That secret was kept by Peter and Marlene throughout their lives until a letter arrived at her condo in Toronto in 2018. It was from her first daughter who believed that she had found her birth mother. For the family, as shocking as all of this was, there was also a huge amount of excitement about having found a full sibling that none had known about.
For Marlene this was almost overwhelming. There was a sense of relief and of shame for what had taken place in a very different time socially, so many years ago. After several phone calls and emails Mary Ellen (Melon) finally made her way out to Toronto where she had a first glimpse of her birth mother and new siblings.
That was followed up in Toronto for Christmas 2019 when the entire family reunited. It was remarkable how much Melon looked like the other family members and how many of her interests were shared. She had never married and had lived her whole life in B.C., and was a cardiac nurse. The connection was immediate and the family will now have the gift of Melon in their lives going forward. A final gift from Marlene to her family.
Marlene is survived by her five children and their families—Melon, Bob, Rick, Alan and Barbara—who will be forever grateful for the love and care she provided.
A few words from each of the family members about their remarkable mother, Marlene.
Melon:
Over 60 years later I was able to locate Marlene, who happily welcomed me into her life and shared the never-told news of my existence with her children, my full siblings. She wanted to know what took me so long! From our first connection by phone, to our last personal visit, she demonstrated the strength, perseverance and love that had guided her life. I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to be a part of her life, these past three years. Her love and personality live on in all her children.
Bob:
A life well lived. It’s all any of us can ask for and Mum did just that. Material things were never as important to Mum as were relationships with family and friends. In her last month at my home in Toronto we were shown those connections through the many phone calls and emails with Yukon friends, current and past. She left a mark on the Yukon, as the Yukon did on us. My license plate on my vehicle in Toronto today says YUKON BOB YOURS TO DISCOVER.
A life well lived. R.I.P. Mum.
Rick:
A woman to be proud of and a mother to be remembered. She was always there for the family and put her life on hold for us. It was such a great feeling to see her reconnect with her first daughter after so many years.
Alan:
Alan’s love of travel and his wanderlust for exploration was inspired by his initial “big” trip with Marlene in 1977 when she returned to England for her first time since leaving in 1945. Throughout the six-week trip she gave Alan more and more freedom to explore London sites on his own. They even did a three-day jaunt over to Paris where they struggled with their French but saw so many memorable places. A few years later, she inspired and encouraged Alan to apply for a Rotary Exchange, which turned into a life-altering ten-month experience in Belgium. Throughout this time, Alan and Marlene corresponded on a regular basis. During this time, Marlene even applied to universities for Alan, which eventually led him to study mainly in Quebec. He remembers secretly returning to the Yukon in time to surprise Mum on the eve of her and Pete’s 25th wedding anniversary. Alan’s fondest recent memory of Mum is Christmas 2019 when for the first time all five of the siblings were together to share their love for each other and their mother.
Barb:
Mum is someone who loved unconditionally and who always encouraged personal growth and happiness. It was evident that Marlene enjoyed raising her children, even with all of their mishaps and adventures. Marlene spurred her children on to obtain an education, choose a career that they enjoyed and to follow their dreams. She was always ready for a chat and her home and heart were always welcoming. In the absence of family, her Yukon friends were like a second family to her providing her with emotional and physical support whenever she needed it. She enjoyed being involved in the community and touched many people’s lives as a result.