Obituary of Lorna Margaret SMITH

Lorna, beloved wife of Victor Smith of Calgary, Alberta, passed away on September 23, 2016. She left this earth peacefully, in her own home, at the age of 95 years. Throughout her long life Lorna displayed physical vigor combined with an optimistic spirit, practical wisdom, and intellectual curiosity. She will be greatly missed. Lorna was born in Lanark, Scotland, on Valentine’s Day 1921. She was always proud of her Scottish heritage. Lorna, along with her parents and older sister Gwendolen, settled in Calgary in 1936. Lorna’s father, David Hunter, sold farming equipment during the Great Depression. Money was scarce, but the family was close-knit and happy. Lorna graduated from Central Memorial high school in 1939. That same year she wrote an essay which won her an expense-paid trip to far-off Toronto. Lorna was a talented writer whose human interest stories were published in the Calgary Herald and oil industry magazines. She also made lifelong friends when she joined the Beta Sigma Phi sorority in the mid-1940s. Lorna worked as an executive secretary at Imperial Oil and Royalite oil companies. In 1951, she seized on the chance to travel, rounding up three friends and touring by car through Britain and western Europe. Perhaps one of her greatest pleasures was outdoor adventure and travel. With camera in hand, Lorna hiked through mountain parks in western Canada, climbed Castle mountain, and toured Japan and Korea with her daughter as tour guide. In the early 1950s Lorna met a young man, Victor Smith, who shared many of the same interests. Lorna and Victor were married in 1954 and spent 57 years together. There were additions to the family: a son, David, and a daughter, Margaret. Lorna and her older sister, Gwen Hopkins, were close neighbors and the best of companions. Lorna kept mind and body sharp by playing golf, winning at bridge, and driving the family car too fast. She played badminton twice a week until the age of seventy-five. She loved to paint still life and mountain scenes in acrylic and watercolor. Her life was an example of a healthy mind in a healthy body. Outwardly quiet and reserved, Lorna showed her deepest feelings-- and sense of humor-- to close family members. In later years these included nieces Shelagh Deck and Moira Jensen, two faithful, loving friends. At the end, the passage of time, and time alone, robbed Lorna of much physical strength. Even so, in her sunny living room, she watched and enjoyed the Olympic games, worked on word puzzles, and exclaimed at the beauty of flowers in her garden. “You know,” she observed from one summer to the next, “we’ve never had such a good year for the roses.” Left to mourn the passing of Lorna Smith are a son, David, a daughter, Margaret, and nieces Shelagh Deck, Moira Jensen, nephew David Hopkins, and their respective families.