Constance "Connie" D. Bottrell

Constance D. “Connie” Bottrell, 91 of Devils Lake, ND passed away on May 3, 2011 at Sanford Health in Fargo, ND. Funeral Services for Connie will be held on Saturday, May 7, 2011 at 1:00 p.m. at First United Methodist Church, Devils Lake. Rev. David Birkeland will officiate and burial will be in the Hannah Cemetery in the spring. Visitation will be at the Gilbertson Funeral Home, Devils Lake on Friday from 4:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. and then visitation on Saturday will be at the church one hour prior to the funeral service. Casket Bearers for Connie will be her grandchildren. Music will be provided by Curt and Judy Kram. Constance Dora McIntyre was born on August 26, 1919 at Norgate, Manitoba to Wallace and Louisa (Impett) McIntyre. Connie and her twin sister, Jessie were the fourth and fifth of twelve children. At an early age, her family moved to California and later returned to Manitoba and Saskatchewan, settling at Ochre River, Manitoba. She attended a country school near Neepawa, Manitoba and finished school in Ochre River and lived and worked in various places in Canada prior to marriage. On November 6, 1950, Connie married Philip Bottrell in Winnipeg. They moved to a farm at Hannah, ND in the spring of 1951, where they farmed for many years. They moved into Hannah in 1986 and she later moved to Langdon then Fargo until 2003, at which time, she moved into Devils Lake where she continued to make her home at the time of her death. Connie farmed and ranched side by side with Phil and also had many other sidelines including raising chickens and turkeys and had large vegetable gardens and always made sure she had a flower garden too. Of course with raising various animals and produce she was always busy canning and freezing and sharing her bounty with family and friends. Never idle, Connie was a seamstress, sewing clothing for her family and she loved to cook and bake and also share those delicious creations. She and Phil also ran a steakhouse in Wales where they provided great food and made many lifelong friends. But nothing brought her more joy than spending time with her grandchildren and great grandchildren. Connie and Phil loved to travel, visiting with family and friends throughout the United States. They enjoyed wintering in Quartzsite, Arizona for over 10 years. They also enjoyed many fishing trips to Canada, and of course taking time to visit relatives there. After Phil's death, Connie continued to make frequent trips to visit her children, sisters and brother in Canada and even a trip to Hawaii. Connie rejoiced in the blessings of a loving family, strength and courage to meet life’s challenges and her many friendships shared along life’s way. Connie is survived by her children: Florence (Francis) Vergal of East Grand Forks, MN, Donald (Teresa) Bottrell of Billings, Montana, Gwen (Lynn) Hodgins of Devils Lake and Lowell (Colette) Bottrell of Fargo; eleven grandchildren; Philip Vergal, Mark Vergal and Mike Vergal; Jim Bennett and Marnie Bennett; Matthew Hodgins , Amy Kram and Amanda Iszler; Joe Bottrell, Troy Bottrell and Mandi Montplaisir; thirteen great grandchildren; sisters Lucy Kilbourne, Daisy (Alf) Newton and Shirley Stovin and brother Gordon McIntyre all of Manitoba; many nieces and nephews also survive. Connie was preceded in death by her husband, Phil on October 15, 1986; her parents; twin sister, Jessie Garnham and sisters Charlotte Loucks, Ethel Murray, Dorothy Bottrell Rudd and Mabel Sommerfeld and brothers Ernest and Cecil McIntyre.