Rose Marie Toole

Rose was born March 23, 1928, in Daysland, Alberta, to Polish immigrants Joseph and Rose Miciak. Rose was the second youngest among her seven siblings: brothers Joe, Louis and Mike and sisters Helen, Ann, Vicki and Louise. Rose grew up on the family farm and eventually, once the farm was sold, her parents bought and operated the one and only hotel in Daysland. Her mother ran the restaurant in the hotel. She and her family lived on the top floor of the hotel. Rose was a curious and active child who enjoyed speed skating.

Unfortunately, Rose broke her hip at a young age while playing Crack the Whip on skates resulting in her being in a body cast. Her siblings in later years have said that this was actually a “fortunate” accident because if she hadn’t been confined to her bed in a cast the family may have all perished in a devastating hotel fire. It was late at night; Rose was lying in bed feeling restless when she smelled smoke. She called, alerting her family of the impending doom. Her father and brothers bounced her from bed to bed and eventually got her safely out the window of the three-story building. The hotel and their livelihood were completely destroyed. It’s been said that Rose saved her family that night. From then on, Rose had always had a fear of smoke and fire.

Her family then moved to Edmonton, where Rose completed grade 10 and attended business school and eventually worked as a secretary. In 1948, Rose was introduced to the love of her life, Gordon, by her brother Louie. After a whirlwind courtship, on May 1, 1949, they were married in the Church of the Holy Rosary in Edmonton. Three of the Miciak girls married the same year—Ann, Vicki and Rose. It was shortly after Rose and Gordon married that Gordon, employed by the Canadian Meteorological Service, was transferred to Watson Lake, Yukon.  And with the promise of “only two years” Rose moved with Gordon. It’s been noted that when Rose arrived by plane in Watson Lake and saw what was there, or more accurately, what was not there, she wanted to get back on the plane and return to Edmonton.

Like many Yukon pioneer women, the promise of two years in the Yukon turned into 70 years. Rose and Gordon initially lived in DOT housing at the Watson Lake airport and eventually moved into their beautiful log home on the shores of Watson Lake that Gordon built on his days off. It was said that Rose dreamt the house plans and Gordon made it a reality. It was here that they raised their six children: twin boys Ronald and Donald, Robert, Deborah, Patricia and Jamie.

Though the North provided many challenges to a city girl, living by the lake proved to be a lifestyle that Rose embraced and grew to love more and more. Boating and fishing were outings that Rose thoroughly enjoyed. Gordon worked shift work. Packing a picnic lunch was a common occurrence. They would often go boating and fishing after midnight, which was one of the perks of living in the Land of the Midnight Sun. Northern living suited Rose. Summer and fall she took pleasure in picking seasonal berries: raspberries, strawberries, black currants, gooseberries, high bush and low bush cranberries. As fresh fruits and vegetables were a limited luxury during this time, Rose took pride in freezing and canning the fruits into jams and fruit for her family. As the children got older, she often “bribed” them to pick berries, by paying a nickel a container.

While raising a family, together Rose and Gordon turned their dreams into reality by starting an aviation service. Watson Lake Flying Service was formed and operated by Gordon and two other partners. The base was located by the float dock on the shore in front of their home. The business was operated out of a small cabin Gordon had built on the property. Later came a fly in fishing camp, Thunderbird Fishing Camp, followed by an outfitting business, Yukon Hunting Unlimited. Dispatcher, bookkeeper, expediter, travel agent and all the other tasks that came with an active business lifestyle—Rose did them all.

With the outfitting business came a farm, growing hay for their horses. Developing the farm took countless hours of brush and rock clearing, which Rose actively took a part in. She became a very experienced equipment operator driving the tractor and cultivator. She always thought “not bad for a city girl.” Once the outfitting business was sold along with the horses, the farm became a hay growing business as well as a market garden. As if there wasn’t already enough to do, Rose chose to raise chickens for the eggs and to supplement the wild meat she and Gordon harvested each fall. Morning and night would find Rose carrying baskets of eggs to the house to be cleaned and stored. Rose provided eggs to Watson Lake, Tungsten and Cassiar mines. 

Like many, Rose was a gardener. She took pride in planting and maintaining her flowers but probably her biggest pride and joy were raspberry bushes in her front yard. The raspberry bushes grew to over six feet tall. There were usually enough raspberries picked to fill over a dozen large ice cream containers. Rose took a lot of pride in providing fresh and healthy food for her family.

Rose was a very active person, loving the outdoors. In her 50s, inspired by her two youngest, Patti and Jamie, she started downhill skiing with Gordon. Weekends were spent at the Watson Lake Ski Hill, skiing and enjoying many evening potlucks. Their new found passion eventually took them to spending winters at many ski resorts in BC and Alberta as well as Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany. When ski season was over Rose and Gordon would walk daily from their home to the ski hill and then hike up to the top of the hill to admire the spectacular view of the lake and the island. Walking daily was something they thoroughly enjoyed and said it kept them young and in shape.

As Gordon had been going to his trapline at Ridge Lake in the mountains about a hundred miles north of Watson Lake for years, Rose made him a promise that once all the children had left home, she would spend a month with him to find out why he enjoyed it so much. True to her word, in September 1985, Rose boarded the Otter floatplane with Gordon for the first time and flew to a remote lake in the mountains. This “one month” adventure turned into 12 winters spent together on their trapline, bringing them happiness and the fondest of memories. These times have been captured in her series of three books, A Promise Fulfilled.

As the northern winters seemed to be getting longer and colder, Rose and Gordon travelled to warmer climates for the winters: Hawaii, Rarotonga, Mexico and eventually annually to the Bahamas. There they enjoyed their long daily walks on the beaches, swimming in warm water and the heat of the hot sun. Rose especially enjoyed the added bonus of “very little cooking” as they often ate in their favorite restaurants. It was while they were in the Bahamas that they were notified that they were being given the honor of representing the Yukon as Mr. & Mrs. Yukon in 2003. After only spending a month in the Bahamas they packed their bags, rebooked their tickets and returned to Whitehorse to fulfill the honor that was bestowed upon them. 

As the years passed, and the need for more medical and support increased, came the difficult decision to leave the family home in Watson Lake. In Sept 2014, Rose and Gordon moved to Whitehorse and made their home in a beautiful condo overlooking the Yukon River. They continued to walk the paved trails along the river in the summer, and on winter afternoons they were often seen walking the track at the Canada Games Centre.

On Nov. 9, 2018, Gordon passed away and two years later Oct. 14, 2020, Rose joined him. They were best friends, soul mates and shared 70 years together in true love.

Rose was predeceased by Gordon, and their firstborn son Denis and is survived by her loving children: Ronald (Lena), Donald (Donna), Robert (Debbie), Deborah (Darwyn), Patti (Brian) & Jamie (Anne).