Obituary of Lorna Pearl McKay

Lorna Pearl McKay passed away on Tuesday, January 13th, 2015 at Stettler Hospital at the age of 91 years. Lorna was born in Gadsby, Alberta on October 20th, 1923 to Ewart and Pearl Quance. Lorna was the second youngest of five girls with one older brother, and her childhood home was full of laughter and music. She had many fond memories of her Mother playing as the family gathered around the piano to sing hymns. Between the ages of six to eleven, Lorna attended school in Gadsby. With no school bus service, she had to board there through the week, only visiting her family at home on the weekend. A smart child, Lorna was gifted at committing long verses of poetry to memory, a skill that she maintained well into her later years. In fact, at her 90th birthday party, she impressed her guests with recitations of her favourite poems. Profound sadness entered Lorna’s life at the age of eleven, when her mother died suddenly. This event shaped her later childhood, creating many challenges and hardships for her. Yet Lorna faced this tragedy with a staunch character, quickly learning how to work on the farm where she cooked for threshing crews, kept house, trapped weasels and muskrats, gardened, milked cows, canned and tended the yard. These skills served Lorna well throughout her life. Lorna’s formal education was cut short following grade 9 when she quit school and devoted herself to the farm full-time. An exceptionally hard-working and industrious person, Lorna loved running the household and found great satisfaction in the fruits of her labour caring for her father Ewart and brother Mel. In her small pockets of spare time she was particularly fond of horseback riding through the scenic coulees and creek bottom of the farm which she loved. These are memories that she cherished and talked about frequently until her passing. One of Lorna’s favourite hobbies was dancing. She would look forward to the dances at local community halls, at least partially because her jitterbug frequently won her prizes. A new chapter opened for Lorna at one of these dances, when she spied a handsome young man named Charlie across the floor. The pair had a lot in common: both Charlie and Lorna were exceptional dancers, and neither of them were afraid of hard work. His musical talent at singing and playing the guitar made even more of an impression on Lorna. Fate brought them together again when Charlie came to work on the family farm during harvest as a thresher, and their love blossomed. In 1941 Charlie set off to war, and Lorna remained his sweetheart until his return in 1945, sending many care packages and anxious letters to him across the sea. They were married in a small ceremony on January 30th 1946. Charlie was the love of Lorna’s life, and their family was the centre of her existence. Between 1947 and 1957 the couple was blessed with six children. The new couple tried their hand at farming in the late 40s, but it wasn’t Charlie’s passion, and this career was cut short by a killing frost in the early 50s that left them with no desire, or money, to continue. Unsure of their next steps, Charlie and Lorna moved to Red Deer where he worked as a labourer at Menzie’s Sash and Door, building doors and windows. Carpentry still wasn’t the career that Charlie dreamt of - he was greatly intrigued by the prospect of being an auctioneer. As a talented singer, he saw parallels between music and the language of an auction. As it turned out, Charlie was a natural, and would become one of the smoothest and best auctioneers that Stettler has known. In 1953, Charlie founded his own business, along with his partner Ace Pratt. Stettler Auction Mart began modestly, and Lorna helped to do the cooking there during the business’s early days. Over time, the Auction Mart became increasingly successful and grew into a social and economic hub for Stettler’s agricultural community. 62 years later it is still operated by family. Lorna and Charlie’s married years were happy ones. They shared a love of horse racing, and raised thoroughbreds, occasionally carting the family to Edmonton for exciting days at the races. Back home in Stettler, Charlie and Lorna built their dream home, an acreage on Stettler’s east side, and it was a place that Lorna would enjoy until her move to the lodge. “The house that Charlie built her,” as she described it, was home to Lorna’s garden, raspberry patch, Hereford cattle and many fond memories for the entire family. Through her years on the acreage, Lorna cultivated many hobbies which made her smile. Her favourites included knitting, crocheting, canning, a milk cow and feeder pigs, even churning her own butter and shipping cream to the local co-op. Gardening was a true passion for Lorna; her raspberry patch was her therapy and apple trees were her solace. She took pride and pleasure in meeting the needs of her family, and even with an empty nest, Lorna continued to spoil her children with frequent batches of gingersnap cookies, bread, cinnamon buns, lemon pies and rice, tapioca and bread puddings. Most visits to Lorna’s house would be greeted with plastic bags stuffed with baked goodies to take home and be enjoyed by her children and grandkids. Like most lives, Lorna’s was peppered with sadness, and significant losses affected her greatly. In 1966, Lorna lost her eldest son, Ricky, in an airplane crash when he was 19 years old. Lorna and Ricky were very close and she was entirely devastated by this loss, and for the rest of her life, every time she spotted a plane in the sky soaring above her acreage she would shed a tear for Ricky. In 1984, her beloved husband Charlie passed at the age of 64, following an abdominal aneurism and leaving her alone for the next 31 years. Further sadness entered Lorna’s life when she lost her 25 year old grandson Derek in a motorcycle accident in 2006. Lorna faced all of these losses with strength and determination that was grounded in her faith in, and love for the Lord. She needed to draw on this faith more frequently as time passed. Her last decade was a difficult one, as she slowly lost her independence. In 2011, she moved from her beloved home of 50 years, into Heart Haven Lodge, then later to Pine Ridge nursing home, and finally Points West. She found it painful to lose her ability to drive and later walk, and did not relish being totally dependent on her caregivers. Through all of this, however, her spunk and sense of humour never went missing. In her last week, upon being told by Dr. Lockhat that that she should “smarten up” due to it being Ukrainian Christmas, she retorted sharply, “I’m not Ukrainian.” Lorna’s family remains grateful to each of you for your relationships that helped to sustain her through these later years. Few days were ever spent alone without her family coming to see her, and she looked forward to each visit. She was also abundantly blessed with friends that visited her, and cared for her with loyalty and love, and for that we thank each of you. The number of you who have invested in your relationship with Lorna are many, and there are too many of you to name individually – but thank you. We are grateful to Pastor Ross Helgeton, who conducted services in all of the facilities where Lorna lived since Heart Haven and was very kind to Lorna throughout these years. We are also grateful to Lorna’s sister-in-law Blanche McKay and niece Lorna LaRose, who have visited her every Tuesday morning, wherever she lived, for over three decades. Ultimately, all that we, her children and grandchildren can say is that we have been incredibly blessed to have Lorna as a mother and grandmother. Lorna is survived by her loving family:: Gary (Dianne) McKay, Karen (Greg) Hayden, Grant (Betty) McKay, Doug (Shirley) McKay and Marilyn (Jim) Abel; 14 grandchildren: Shawn, Candice, Jordan (Jennifer), Quinn (Janelle), Jenece (Kurt), Kelsey (Rob), Paige (Brett), Paul, Jamie (Dave), Kenton, Joel (Miranda), Loranne (Travis), Tyler and Lorna (Steve); 19 great grandchildren: Sophie, Kaelan, Jack, Riley, Hayden, Silas, Samantha, Alison, Connor, Reagan, Liam, Deacon, Cayman, Carson, Heath, Chase, Cole, Brody and Bryce; and sisters and brother in law Kay (Louis) Scheerschmidt, Margaret Merchant, Kay McKay and Blanche McKay; brothers in law: Harry Long, Murry Wilde, other relatives and many dear friends. Predeceased by her husband Charlie McKay, son Ricky McKay, grandson Derrick Abel and all of her siblings and a large McKay family. Funeral Service Saturday, January 17, 2015 2:00 PM Heartland Chapel Stettler Funeral Home, Stettler, Alberta Memorial Donations may be made to SHSF- Stettler Health Services Foundation, STARS, Omega Circle (Gadsby Cemetery) or a charity of your own choice.