Obituary of Edith May Watts

Edith May Lowe was born in Drumheller on May 15th, 1933, second daughter to John and Ethel Lowe. She was raised along with two sisters in the Michichi and Rumsey areas and attended grade school at the ¬¬Two Valley View Country School. She began to work for others at a young age, first as caretaker at the school and then babysitting/housekeeping for local farmers. She met the man of her dreams and married Loren Watts on June 7, 1950. They farmed in the Scollard area where they raised four children. Mom worked hard beside Dad in the field and always made sure a meal was on the table. She kept a huge garden and canned and froze many preserves for the cold winter months. Mom & Dad retired in 1976, built a new home and moved into the Village of Big Valley. They bought a small holiday trailer and spent lots of time camping at Rochon Sands. Mom was always an avid fisherwoman and enjoyed fishing for trout from the shore of local ponds or out in their boat fishing for Pike. She always caught more than anyone else. She was lucky like that. They started to get away from the cold Alberta winters and travelled to Arizona. The first year they went for three weeks and stayed in a hotel advancing to three months in their motorhome and then to six months in their Park Model in Road Haven. They always came home for Christmas until the year it was 40 below for the two weeks they were here. They never came again! We were however fortunate to spend many Christmas’ together in the Arizona sunshine. Snow is not essential to celebrate the holiday season, but family is. They met many wonderful friends during their years in Arizona; many of whom are here today. They also took up the game of golf. This was another thing that Mom became very good at. Quite regularly she kicked Dad’s butt and not many people can boast of having six “Holes in One”, but she could! They moved from Big Valley to Rochon Sands in 1993 and spent many a day fishing on Buffalo Lake. Mom loved living at the lake. She enjoyed watching the birds and listening to them sing. The deer were welcome to wander through the yard as long as they didn’t stop to eat the flowers. She so enjoyed sitting on the deck looking at all the colors of the spring, summer and fall seasons In 2005, they moved to Spruce Terrace condo in Stettler and continued to spend the majority of the winter in Arizona. Mom and Dad were fortunate to take many trips during their 61 years together. When their family was young, the trips were to Washington and Oregon to visit family and friends. As they were able to kick the kids out of the nest, they got to cruise Mexico, travel to Alaska, Missouri, Eastern Canada, the North eastern US and finally Hawaii. Hawaii had been on Mom’s bucket list for a long time and it finally became reality in 2009. Mom fought her battle with cancer with such strength and dignity; she is an everlasting role model for her husband, 4 children, 9 grandchildren, 15 great grandchildren and all her extended family and friends. She never took “No” for an answer and always found a way to look at every situation with a positive attitude. Edith is survived by her loving family: husband Loren Watts of Stettler; children: Carol (Doug) Bryson of Erskine, Lyle (Lorna) Watts of Rochon Sands, Marie (Rusty) McLean of Stettler and Kathy Campbell (Harvey Jochelman) of Calgary; grandchildren: Kyle Bryson, Kent (Shantel) Bryson, Mark Bryson, Lisa (Ryan) Legere, Dana (Sandy) Clancy, Clint (Denise) Watts, Jennifer McLean, Jessica McLean and Heather (Chris) Tomkins; 15 great grandchildren; sisters Joyce (Gordon) Primrose and Marjorie (Orville) Olsen; numerous nieces, nephews, other relatives and many dear friends. A celebration of Edith's life will be held on Tuesday, September 13, 2011 at 2:00 P.M. in the Heartland Chapel of Stettler Funeral Home, Stettler, Alberta. As an expression of sympathy and in memory of Edith memorial donations are gratefully accepted to Tom Baker Cancer Center, 1331-29th Street NW, Calgary, Alberta T2N 4N2 or a charity of the donor’s choice.