Obituary of Twyllia G. Long

Mrs. Twyllia Long was born on June 30, 1930 passed away on June 30, 2016 while in the Our Lady of the Rosary Hospital, Castor, AB surrounded by her loving family on her 86th birthday. Twyllia is survived by her companion Don Snyder; daughter Lorraine Long of Gadsby; sons Gary (Renee) and Randy (Cindy) both of Stettler; grandchildren Heidi (Colin) Andersen and their children Taylor, Shallyn and Rheese, Amiee (Brent) Schiffner and their children Bryn and Zane, Vicky (Ken) Loughlin and their son Sylas, Michael (Jeralyn) Long and their children Brenner and Grey, Stephanie Lunty and her children Kurtis and Shawn, Jennifer (Curtis) Fischer and their children Jake and Chad. Funeral services will be held on Saturday, July 9, 2016 at 2:00 PM in the Heartland Chapel of the Stettler Funeral Home. Those wishing to pay their respects may do so at the Stettler Funeral Home between 11 AM and 1 PM. A luncheon will immediately follow the funeral service with interment to take place in Omega Cemetery, Gadsby, AB. Memorial donations may be made to the Omega Circle c/o Stettler Funeral Home, Box 1780, Stettler, AB, T0C 2L0. Sympathies may be forwarded to the family by signing the guestbook at www.stettlerfuneralhome.com. A letter to our Mother…. Our Dearest Mom, Sitting here in your beloved home, the farm at Gadsby surrounded by your memories and treasures we find ourselves given the great honor of writing this letter about your life to share with family, friends, neighbors, fellow teachers and students and many others who have become special to you. You started out your journey born in Innisfail, Alberta, June 30th, 1930 to your mother Garnet Tigner and father James Park. We remember you telling us that you remember growing up in Bentley, Alberta. We remember you showing us the house where you and grandma had lived and telling us the story of your humble beginnings as you watched your mother scrub floors and baby sit to make a living. You remembered the Park Family and other families you had grown up with in the Innisfail and Pine Lake areas like the Loughleans, Munroes, and Colemans. Your lives took a turn when Gramp moved the family and his 300 Black Angus cow herd to Gadsby. It was free range from the land he purchased, down to Hanna. That was in 1934, and after bumping across the prairie from Pine Lake to Gadsby on a buck board, that took a week, you remembered your mom saying “what was he thinking”. You arrived in the middle of the depression drought years, and all she saw was a sprig of grass here and a sprig of grass there and no trees. Mom then went to school at Gadsby; she was a very good runner and loved track meets. We remember her prized feat of beating Edgar Skaley in a race. When mom was 16 she rode with the cattle buyer back to Lacombe, caught the train to Calgary for boarding and high school at Mount Royal. She and her mother cooked and hayed for Gramp every summer. And the fun times had with the Ericksons, and other lifelong friends from Gadsby were numerous. She continued her education and became a teacher with the two year program from the University of Alberta. Her first assignment was the Barons one room school house, north of Erskine, with a one to nine class. She remarked that some of the students were older than her. And thus began her journey as a teacher. It was in Mount Royal where she met Glenn Long, who had become a commercial airline pilot. Soon this began another exciting journey living in Winnipeg, then to Montreal, where Gary and Randy were born, and Toronto for Lorraine. In the 1950’s and 60’s Air Travel was new and exciting, and they took it all in together, going to Paris, London, Germany, New York, Barbados, and many other exciting and exotic places. She loved every special moment. We remember special times with the Smallmans who lived down the block and with us up in cottage country at Gloster Pool; like the food fight, waterskiing and the rattle snakes. She would substitute teach in between raising us kids. She had time and energy for us all, pack us all and the rest of everyone elses’ kids in to her little red Volkswagen and off we’d go. She remembered fondly the time when waiting an hour at the bizarre to help, she finally told them her name was Twyllia Long. They said, Oh? We were looking for a Chinese lady. But then her journey turned again to the west. She moved us all back to Alberta to take over the family farm at Gadsby. Even with cattle and grain, mom was soon teaching part time. Lorraine was asked when mom was going to teach her in grades 3 and 4, what she was going to call her? “Mom” was the response, and that was OK with her…. so Mom it was. She taught and shared her life with many of her teaching friends, like Lorraine Potter, Kay, Kjerene, Carolyn, Neil, Orest and Bob. We’d like to mention them all but time won’t allow; she remembered you all fondly. Mom’s students, over 3000 as a rough estimate, most of whom considered her their favorite teacher… and they her favorite students. Whether she made you pancakes or stone soup to get you to learn, you were going to learn and hopefully enjoy it as much as she did. She was so proud, when after driving to Stettler, Red Deer, Calgary, Lethbridge and Edmonton taking night courses and summer classes, earned her Bachelor of Education Degree. And through it all she taught, raised three kids, kept a huge garden, chickens and helped look after the farm. She would pack us off to tap dancing, hockey, singing, church, 4-H, warm the calves that were brought in to save, make our own popcorn for the drive in theatre, cookies, squares, cuts, scrapes, hospitals and so much more. And doing it all over again with love and excitement for grandkids and great grandkids. She loved to dance with her special friend Lawrence Gormley, Barb and Roy and Charlie and Eva. She liked to experience life through doing things like fishing, floor curling, camping, music or travels to Lake Manitou at Watrous. She met Don Snyder, who became her beloved life companion. They travelled and shared many roads together; farming, gardening, laughed and talked, played crib for who was to be boss that day and shared friends and family. Most of all we remember Mom was always “There”; there for us and our kids and everyone’s kids, family, friends, in any kind of problem or adventure that came along. She experienced life to the fullest and never stopped or gave up at what life threw her. Mom was determined to do and get it done… even if it meant pulling the fire alarm to get your attention. This is a brief capsule of our moms life journey that she shared so caring and lovingly with all she met. I hope you will remember the precious time shared and maybe even the black currant jam she loved to give to those she cared about most. We wish there was a better way to express our thanks to your undying devotion to us and ours to you. God Bless and may your next journey be your best. Forever in our hearts, Love, Hugs, and Kisses… Your Children, Gary, Randy and Lorraine