February 27, 1933 - February 22, 2022
In Loving Memory ~
It's with heavy hearts that we say goodbye to our Mom and Grandma Marlene. On 02.22.2022 She passed peacefully at her daughter's home in Salmon Arm, BC surrounded by love and with her favourite puppy Kiki on her knee.
Mom had tremendous love for her children Cam(Jo-Ann), Cindy(Gene Tymkiw), and Ian; grandchildren Terra(Brad Rowand), Lindsay(Kevin Rowan), and Travis(Courtnee); great-grandchildren Jaelyn, Brinley, Riley, Stella, Miller, and Maren; brother and sister in-laws Billy and Joyce Mealy, Marlene Hunter, and Grace and Ev Bell; her Tymkiw family; many wonderful nieces and nephews and dear friends.
Mom was born February 27, 1933 to Muriel and Russell Bell of Elgin, MB. She was the youngest of five children~Bob, Dorie, Enid, and Howie.
Somehow they always ended up being woven in to every one of her conversations! Life was stressful in Mom's early years; the depression, her Dad and oldest brother enlisting, and her mom having to work many jobs to make ends meet.
Mom became very resourceful to pass the hours of solitude... School~4h~skating~dancing~and getting up to no good with Betty(Anderson)gamble who to this day is still her BFF!
At the early age of 17 Mom became employed by MTS as a switchboard operator. We loved to tease her about one ringy dingy, two ringy dingy! It was here she met the love of her life Deb Mealy and in 1956 they were married.
Dad's job took them all over southern MB but in 1964 they thought it was time to settle permanently in a community they knew and loved so Elgin became home for the Mealy's!
Life was very very busy and Mom took child rearing very very seriously! She openly admitted it was the toughest job she had ever tackled.
Having experienced "the dirty 30's", she knew how to stretch a dollar. Never did we go without, we always had skates, ball gloves, and a few bucks in our pockets for that special trip to Dairy Queen when we'd visit our Grandma Aleta in the city!
Mom was a domestic goddess! Linens were pristinely pressed, hardwood floors gleaming! You could always find a beautiful cake on the counter when you popped in for a cup of tea.
It was pure wonderment how she found the time to run a satellite Autopac office from her home for Morrison-Ross Agencies plus keep everything shipshape for the staff and clientele at the CIBC for 15+ years.
Amidst it all mom could be found at the rink~ball diamond~or the town hall serving the community she so loved.
In 2004, Mom and Dad packed up and moved to Salmon Arm. We felt like they were on their second honeymoon! Mom loved her little condo. She enjoyed the silverback games and she even joined the gym. We all got a charge out of her when she'd ask us to check out her biceps! We all wish we could press the pause button for just a moment but that's not life.
In 2016 Dad passed and Mom tried so very hard to stay strong. Unfortunately unforgiving falls and poor recoveries led Mom to living a life she could no longer tolerate. She was brave and she was beautiful and she will live within us always. You are free Mom...
You filled our hearts with gladness
You took away all our sadness
You eased our troubles
That's what you did...
Our family offers a heartfelt thank you to Dr. Kim Grieve, Dr. R.W. (Warren) Bell, Daniela Widmer, the staff at Bastion Place, the folks at Piccadilly Terrace, and family and friends for their love and support.
Online condolences may be sent to Marlene's family through her obituary at www.Bowersfuneralservice.com