YVONNE M. FRIES

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YVONNE M. FRIES Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba on March 21, 1928, Yvonne McRorie Fries died unexpectedly in Tucson, Arizona on Monday, May 16, 2011 at the tender age of 83. Eldest daughter of Stuart and Edna McRorie, Yvonne came by her compassion for others and love of adventure honestly. Stuart was a Canadian aviation pioneer who flew open cockpit aircraft transporting people and equipment throughout the north. Edna embraced this adventurous spirit by spending every summer in a tent with the girls near Stuart's flying camp. Yvonne graduated as the gold medalist in Social Work from the University of Winnipeg in 1950. That same year, she moved to Michigan to find work and met her husband, Robert Earl Fries of South Bend, Indiana, and started her family. They were blessed with three children and were living in Kalamazoo, Michigan when Bob had a massive heart attack at the age of 38. Widowed on her tenth anniversary, with three small children under the age of six, Yvonne enrolled in graduate school at the University of Michigan where she completed her MSW in 1964. She then resumed her career as a social worker in Kalamazoo. She was a pioneer in many ways and raised her children as a single parent without complaint, making sure she passed along her sense of compassion and adventure. After deciding that she wanted to raise her family in Canada, Yvonne came to Calgary in 1971 to live close to her parents. She worked at Catholic Family Services and in private practice as a therapist for nine years. The oil and gas industry discovered Yvonne's talents in 1980 and she retired from Petro-Canada as the Director of Organizational Development in 1986. A lifelong learner, Yvonne was the first woman graduate from the Banff School of Advanced Management and received her PhD in 1989 from the Union Institute. After retirement she travelled extensively throughout North America, Europe and Asia. St. Petersburg was the next destination on her list. Yvonne lived a life in service to others as a social worker, therapist, consultant, senior manager, and board member on numerous community and professional organizations. Her legacy is present in the many friendships she treasured and her presence as a mother, wife, sister, aunt, cousin, grandmother and great-grandmother. She was kind and generous to others and always on the lookout for a good party and the chance to meet new, interesting people. Friends and family recognize the world will not be the same without her spirit and enthusiasm for life. Yvonne leaves behind her husband of 15 years, Donald Hunt, children Jim (Elizabeth), Allan (Debbie) and Barbara (Richard), stepchildren Cliff (Pat), David (Sylvia), and Heather, 14 grandchildren, eight great-grandchildren and numerous cousins, nephews and nieces. Yvonne is also survived by her three younger sisters Audrey, Shirley and Elaine. A celebration of Yvonne's life will be held on Saturday, June 4 at 11:00 a.m. at Hillhurst United Church, 1227 Kensington Close NW, Calgary, AB. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Foothills Academy, a school and community service for children with learning disabilities located at 745 37 Street NW, Calgary, AB T2N 4A1 www.foothillsacademy.org .

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on May 21, 2011