NELLIE SARAH SHIRTLIFFE

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NELLIE SARAH SHIRTLIFFE Peacefully on July 25, 2002 at the Douglas Campbell Lodge in Portage la Prairie our mother, grandmother and great-grandmother passed away at age 97. She was born at St. Francis Xavier on March 25, 1905, to Dora and Clarence B. Franklin. Funeral service will be held in the chapel of the Omega Funeral Home on Monday, July 29 at 1:30 p.m., with Pastor Steve Wilson officiating. Interment will follow in the family plot at Hillside Cemetery. Besides her parents, she was predeceased by her husband of 57 years, Albert (Bert) Shirtliffe in 1992, her brother Erwin in 1922 and her sister Bernice in 2001. Remembering her with love and deep appreciation are her daughters, Lynn (Colin) Walker of Surrey, BC and Diane (Basil) McCallister of Portage la Prairie. Also surviving are her grandson Sean Walker of Surrey and great-granddaughters, Kyra Borland-Walker and Shanara Walker. She also leaves to mourn her passing her brother Clarence (Irene) Franklin of Winnipeg; sisters-in-law, Florence Farenhurst of Winnipeg and Eva Shirtliffe of Starbuck; and numerous nieces and nephews. Mom grew up along the Assiniboine River and witnessed many events of the early life along the river. She remembered her father taking her to the banks of the river to watch a line of heavily laden canoes pass by, with paddlers dressed in colourful costumes. This was the last Hudson Bay fur brigade coming from the west using canoes. She also remembered the final trips of the last riverboats just before the bridges were finished across the river. Mom completed her education at the Winnipeg Normal School and taught in rural Manitoba and Britannia School in Winnipeg. She owned a Ford Model B car and, with friends, went camping to the Black Hills and recalled the construction of the faces on Mount Rushmore. On October 12, 1935 she married Bert Shirtliffe of the Elm Bank district near Starbuck, and they farmed there for 38 years. Mom was a keen gardener and cook and loved entertaining her friends from teaching days. Her passion was world affairs and she inspired her family with a desire for education and travel. She was also close to friends and neighbours in the Starbuck United Church. In 1973 mom and dad retired to Portage la Prairie and enjoyed playing cards at Kosy Korner as well as travelling overseas and to the Vancouver area. She moved to the Douglas Campbell Lodge in 1999. Her family will always be grateful to the staff of the Douglas Campbell Lodge for the excellent care given to her while she resided there. Should friends so desire memorial donations may be made to the Douglas Campbell Lodge, in care of the Portage District General Hospital Foundation, 524-5th St. S.E., Portage la Prairie, MB R1N 3A8. Friends may leave a message and sign the register book at our website www.omegafuneralhome.com "Where life stories live on". The Omega Funeral Home are in care of the arrangements.

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Jul 27, 2002