Obituary of Velma Velta SIMON

Our beloved mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, Velma (Vel) Simon passed away on Friday, November 11, 2016 at the age of 84 years. A beautiful, vivacious prairie child, married at 20 years of age to gallant WWII veteran and country music fiddler Frank Simon, Vel lived a rich life as a loving wife and mother, and more. She nurtured her family with unaffected joy and wisdom across half the continent, through good times and hard. Vel guided the family through numerous re-locations, even packing up three young children to move from Lethbridge to California, where Frank studied at Stanford. She always joked she should have received the same degrees, as she helped with the research and typed every paper and thesis! Their retirement dreams took Vel and Frank to several homes on North Pender Island and in West Bank, B.C., where they volunteered in their communities and made many, many friends. When Frank became ill late in life, again living in Calgary, Vel was a tireless caregiver, dedicating her days and nights to his comfort and safety. After Frank’s passing and in her seventies, Vel stayed incredibly active. A lifelong amateur artist, she painted in oils and acrylics, hand-painted candles and produced beautiful jewellery, selling her creations at local craft fairs. She enjoyed travel, driving or flying from Calgary to Lethbridge, Edmonton, Kelowna, the west coast and California to visit family and friends. Her adventurous spirit even took her on the trip of a lifetime to India and Nepal with her friend, Evelyn Salt. Into her eighties, Vel continued to be difficult to keep up with. She was involved in her community, played Bingo and Pokeno several times weekly, and socialized and communicated regularly with relatives (a loving hug to sister-in-law Edith King) and friends old and new. She volunteered at the Santori Hospice, helping make life more enjoyable for the residents, especially for good friend, Betty Ryan. In her last years, dealing with ALS, Velma inspired family, friends and caregivers with her truly astounding courage, resilience, ingenuity and resourcefulness, independence of mind and spirit, and good humour in the face of an insidious, devastating illness; never bitter, never giving in. We will miss her forever. Vel is survived by daughter Sandra (Gerard); sons Ger (Pat) and Don (Wendy); grandchildren Kyle (Kelsey), Megan, Maya, Mackenzie and Rhys; and great-grandchildren Jackson, Malia and Cassidy. Vel was predeceased by her husband Frank; parents Mary and Godfried; sister Lennie; and brothers Ted and Elmer. An informal open house to celebrate Vel’s life will be held on Wednesday, November 30, 2016 from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. at Forest Heights Community Centre, 4909 Forego Avenue SE. Tributes may be made directly to the A.L.S. Society of Alberta (Lou Gehrig’s Disease), 7874 – 10th Street N.E., Calgary, AB T2E 8W1, www.alsab.ca. The family thanks the ALS Clinic, the Sarcee Hospice, the ALS Society, and caregivers Jenny and Airi, whom Vel truly loved.