Adventures in Alberta
My Aunt Donna passed away on March 26, 2023. She would have celebrated her 95th birthday in June. Aunt Donna is my mother's younger sister and was the last surviving aunt or uncle on both sides of my family. After my mother died in 1956, Aunt Donna always kept track of us and tried to keep in touch. Until she lost her hearing and could no longer use the telephone, she called each of us on our birthdays and would have lengthy chats with us. She was always interested in our families and what we were doing.
I flew to Calgary Alberta on Saturday, April 1. Our daughter Sherri and her husband Jim picked me up at the airport and we drove to Lethbridge. I had not visited Alberta since we returned from our previous mission in 2019. It was nice to see some real mountains again.
We stayed with granddaughter Heather and her family in Lethbridge. She was married during Covid, when we could not cross the border, and we had only met her husband Kyle via Zoom. Their baby was born a year ago, after we arrived in Montréal, so had not met him either.
Getting acquainted with baby James
Helping me sweep the floor
James is busy and happy and full of life. It was a joy spending some time with him. Heather and Kyle are great parents and their home is filled with love. Exactly what grandparents love to see!
One of my sisters picked me up in Lethbridge and we made our way to Cardston to meet our other siblings. The six children of Eldon and Mary Tolley have not all been together since a reunion in Yellowstone in 2011. We also have a step-brother and sister whom we adore and are happy that they are part of our family.
2011 with our spouses
Just the six of us 2023
On Sunday afternoon we went down memory lane together. My father was born and raised in the small farming community of Mountain View. The Tolley family homestead is there, now owned by another family. Our parents are buried in the Mountain View cemetery, which is where we are in the picture above. The cemetery sits atop a hill. I don't think I have ever been there when it wasn't terribly windy. It was also quite cold on this day.
We are lined up in order of age with our parent's headstone in front of us. Cheryl lives outside Spokane, WA; Ronda lives in Saint George, UT; Barbara in Herriman, UT; Gordon in Springville, UT; Karen in West Jordan, UT (currently in Montréal Quebec until July); Nola in Missoula, MT. It wasn't easy for everyone to get to Cardston but we all loved our Aunt Donna and wanted to be there. These are the people I respect, love and cherish most and I am honored to be their sister.
View of Old Chief Mountain from the cemetery
Old Chief Mountain is a landmark in Southern Alberta and holds great memories for us. I believe it is actually located on the Montana side of the border but I always think of it as Canada. My nephew Troy (Cheryl's son who drove her to Cardston) went to the cemetery later in the day and got some great shots at sunset.
My Tolley grandparents went to Alberta from Utah in the late 1800's, where they established a homestead in Mountain View. Their first home was a rented log cabin. They had this house built in 1926. It is where my father grew up and lived with my mother Mary for a short time after they were married. The house still stands but is no longer habitable. The owners still farm the land and keep equipment near the house. The front yard was filled with cows when we were there.
Approaching the property
Front of the house
Side view of the house
On the way back from Mountain View we stopped at the Cardston cemetery to visit our maternal grandparent's gravesite.
Roy and Edna are the grandparents I lived with for two years after our mother's death. They are Aunt Donna's and my mother's parents.
We drove past the little house where we lived when I was born. It looks much worse than when I saw it last and doesn't appear to be well cared for anymore.
Our little Cardston home
The day of the funeral was cold, windy and snowy. The funeral itself was lovely; the shortest funeral I have attended. That wasn't what made it so lovely, but I liked it! My cousin Neil gave a wonderful talk; short, simple, concise that explained the gospel and our purpose and plan. We were able to meet with several cousins we had not seen for years.
One of Aunt Donna's wishes was to have her casket lowered while we were all at the cemetery. I had never seen it done before but we all honored her wishes.
Dan, Nola, Cheryl and Troy
Dan, Nola and I spent Tuesday exploring a little of Calgary. The big event was going to a Calgary Flames hockey game. We have a semi-pro team in Salt Lake but none of us had been to a pro game. We went to the team store earlier in the day so Dan could buy a tee shirt to wear to the game.
Arriving at the Saddledome
Pre-game arena
Pre-game warm up
Pre-game hype
Waiting for the flame
I was up at 3:00 am to get to the airport by 4:30 am. My flight departed at 6:00 am. It was bumpy most of the way but we made it safely to Montréal. We landed in the middle of an ice storm - I'll say more about that on the regular weekly blog.
I am so grateful for my family and that I was permitted a break to be with them for a few days in Alberta.
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