KATHLEEN SHIRLEY MITCHELL (SIMPSON)

Adjust Text Size: A+ A-

KATHLEEN SHIRLEY MITCHELL (nee SIMPSON) Shirley Mitchell, of Saskatoon, SK, died peacefully on July 16, 2013. Born in Winnipeg, MB, September 4, 1923, she was the only child of the late Margaret and George Simpson. Shirley graduated from the nursing program at the Winnipeg General Hospital in 1946. In 1947, she married the late Dr. Donald Marshall Mitchell. They lived together in Winnipeg, Yorkton, and Massachusetts, before settling in Saskatoon in 1954. Shirley loved classical music, literature, and the visual arts. She was a tireless volunteer with the Saskatoon Symphony Society, a long standing member of a book club, and a collector of paintings and sculpture. In the late 1960s she returned to nursing, working part-time at the University Hospital. Shirley relocated to Victoria, BC in 1975, where she worked as a home care nurse with the Capital Regional District and volunteered with the Pacific Opera Society. She retired in approximately 1984, after which she volunteered with the Victoria Hospice Society. Shirley travelled extensively to far flung destinations such as Zimbabwe, Egypt, Jordan, Israel, Italy, Greece, Austria, Thailand, Bali, Turkey, Jamaica, Mexico, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. She returned many times to one of her favourite places: the Pacific Rim National Park, on the west coast of Vancouver Island. Shirley was the backbone of her large family, instilling the values of tolerance and a social conscience in her children: Paul (Susan), Doug (Rae), Cathie (Scot), Anne (Martin), Joni (Pierre), Paddy (Dave), Barbara (Steve), and David (Toni). She is also survived by 17 grandchildren and 18 great-grandchildren. Shirley's generous nature and intellectual curiosity will be greatly missed by her family and by her many close friends and colleagues. In lieu of flowers, her family is requesting that donations be made out to Victoria Hospice.

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Jul 23, 2013