(lovingly referred to as Nelly), was born at home on April 13, 1920 to Dora and Koozma Berekoff in Pelly, Saskatchewan. She was the third of four children - Florence, Alex, Mabel and Harriette, grew up as siblings in the Berekoff home. When she was about eight years old, Mabel lost her father to a head injury.
The family moved to the Krestova area of British Columbia in 1936. In 1937, at the age of seventeen, Mabel married Mike Koodrin. Mike was a mechanic and together they began a family. Michael was born in 1940 and Paul was born in 1943. Mike and Mabel moved their family to Hilliers on Vancouver Island in about 1944. In 1962 they moved briefly to Vancouver before returning to their Thrums property with their sons. Here they became active members of the USCC and lived harmoniously with many friends and family. Paul and Nina began planting a field of blueberries while Mabel and Mike helped to raise the grandchildren.
Mabel and Mike lost their son Micheal in 1980. In 1998 Mabel lost her husband Mike and daughter-in-law Nina, just a week apart.
Mabel spent her last days enjoying the beauty of the Kootenay River bank, the dramatic mountains, the luscious blueberries and the many people who visited her at her riverside home. She loved to sell blueberries and offer herbal, medicinal advice to those she loved from beneath the shade of her petunia filled porch. She always marveled about living to the ripe old age of ninety.
On behalf of the family, we would like to thank all those friends and neighbors who came to her home with love an support, for her resources were many.
Mabel passed away quietly on November 23, 2010 at 6:55 PM at Trail Hospital with her loving son at her side.
Mabel is survived by her son Paul, wife Irene and their blended family; grandchildren Greg and Stefanie Koodrin, Matthew, Alison, Jennifer and her sons Jake, Nathan and Nicolas.
She is also survived by daughter-in-law Elaine, grandchildren Sandra and Kathy and great grandchildren Ryan, Shale and Jordon.
We would like to thank her precious nieces and nephews who devoted themselves to always being there for her. They were both family and friends.
Mabel had a favorite prayer that she recited to her grand and great grandchildren, since they didn't understand the Russian language. She chanted it over her loved ones every chance she had and whispered it from her hospital bed like this:
Light of God surrounds me,
Love of God enfolds me,
Power of God protects me,
Presence of God watches over me,
Wherever I am, God is.
Whoever you are, wherever you are,
God bless you with his divine order.
We ask that God accept her soul into his heavenly kingdom.
Thank you to the U.S.C.C. executive and committee members for helping make the arrangements go so smoothly. Thank you to Leonard Voykin for being the funeral M.C. Thank you to her Dr. Lesperance, Dr. Thompson and the Trail Hospital staff for their loving care.