SHIRLEY FORD

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SHIRLEY FORD Shirley Rose Ford, née Hickerson, was born and raised in Fort Frances, Ontario. Shirley was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2006 and after a long, hard battle, passed away in the early hours of January 1, 2011, in Dauphin, Manitoba. After graduating from Grade 13, Shirley went on to Teachers College in Thunder Bay, and then to Sandy Lake First Nation in Northern Ontario. Shirley and her fellow teachers were the first full-time teachers in the area and she had some 38 pupils in her grade one class ranging in age from six to 16, none of whom could communicate in English! A natural artist, Shirley used her visual skills to convey concepts as the students progressed, fostering a love for art that some students never lost. She never forgot her first students, and some of them kept in touch for the rest of her life. The following year Shirley met Les, her Scottish Hudson's Bay Company store manager, and eventual husband of 46 years. They moved on to Island Lake, Manitoba, where Shirley greatly enjoyed supply teaching. The following years, and moves to Grand Rapids and The Pas, allowed her to continue to teach, her great satisfaction in life. Between 1966 and 1974, Shirley embraced a new role, raising her three sons, Lyle, Alan and Derek. When the family moved south to Dauphin in 1974, Shirley began teaching adults at the Parkland Campus of the Assiniboine Community College. Over the years, Shirley delighted in her chosen profession, savouring every student's graduation. A tireless advocate for students and instructors, she put student success and growth before all other considerations. Ever alert to the myriad complications adult learners can face, Shirley never failed to extend a helping hand to anyone who needed a second chance, any hour of the day. Her expertise earned her two invitations to Tanzania, where she worked with teachers in small, rural schools. But for a bicycle accident in Africa that sent her home with a broken hip, Mama Fordy would have returned again and again to continue working with the Tanzanians she loved so much. At the time of her retirement, Shirley was the Dean of the Parkland Campus, a position she enjoyed, even though it meant less time in the classroom air she preferred to breathe. Shirley traced her ancestry back to the 18th century Selkirk settlers, proudly claiming her status as a member of the Métis communities of Northern Ontario and Manitoba. Part of the large extended clan of Calders in the Fort Frances area, Shirley drew strength from the generations of perseverance her Orkney, Cree and Métis forebears passed on to her. Her mother, Helen Hickerson (d. 1998); father, William Hickerson (d. 1968); and her siblings, Horace, Jessie (Enge), Irene (d. 1983), Bill, Frank, Florence (Kemp), Ed, Donna (Opie) and Lois (Topping), raised Shirley to respect her own, and everyone's, intrinsic humanity. That strong, quiet spirituality sustained her and moved her to honour everyone she met, always expecting, and eliciting, the best that people can be. Shirley leaves to mourn her passing her husband Les; her sons, Lyle, Lisa and grandson Malcolm, Alan and fiancée Gillian, Derek, Joanne and granddaughter Sofia; her large extended family; her Scottish relatives, George and Alison (Ford) Manson, and Bill and Vera (Ford) Beattie; and an even larger community of friends, colleagues and students. Funeral services were held on Wednesday, January 5, 2011 at the First United Church in Dauphin, Manitoba with Reverend Larry McPhail officiating. Interment will be held at a later date. SNEATH-STRILCHUK FUNERAL SERVICES 204-638-4110 www.sneathstrilchuk.com

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Jan 08, 2011