Doreen Battram

It is with great sadness, we announce the passing of our wonderful mother Doreen Marian (Ulry) Battram, on October 4, 2026, at the age of 82 years old, just shy of her 83rd birthday. Doreen was sister to Orville and Ronald and the daughter of Clifford and Leah (Peck) Ulry. She was born two months premature, in Innisfail, Alberta during a snowstorm, on October 31, 1943.

That winter they gave up farming, moved to Calgary and Doreen’s father, Cliff joined the army. The war ended in 1945 and they moved to BC but soon found themselves back in Calgary. They lived in Calgary until 1950 then moved to Olds. In 1953 they moved to an acreage and in 1954 bought a farm west of Bowden in the Garrington District.

At the age of 14, Doreen started work at the Olds Hospital in the food services and housekeeping departments. She then moved to Calgary in the early 1960’s where she worked at the Calgary General Hospital, also in food services. In 1964, Doreen met her soon to be husband after being set up on a blind date by a close friend/co-worker. Doreen and Art were married July 24, 1965. During this time, Doreen worked for Henry Birks & Sons for the finance department in downtown Calgary at a time when cash travelled downstairs in tubes. She worked there until Joelle and Tara were born. She returned to Henry Birks & Sons in 1978 until the mid ‘80s. The family resided in the Westbrook, Glenbrook and Lakeview communities. Doreen worked at Woodward’s Department Store in the linen department, followed by a time in the local post office at Lakeview Hardware Store. She moved to Didsbury, Alberta in 2003 to be closer to her mum. Here, she began working at a local catering company, Didsbury Catering and Delights where she helped with many special events in and around the Didsbury area.

Travel highlights include going down the Oregon and California coasts, senior bus trip to Las Vegas, Ontario to camp with her sisters in law, Quebec City, a memorable trip to Alaska on a cruise with her mom and friends, many trips to British Columbia and two enjoyable trips to the Maritimes.

Doreen was a great cook and baker. Many had a seat at the table for turkey dinners, or the popular roast beef complete with Yorkshire Puddings. Sometimes a success and sometimes not, but they always tasted great. Doreen took a Chinese food cooking class as well, learned about moulded chocolates. Her family benefited from this during special holidays and occasions.

Doreen enjoyed doing jigsaw puzzles and always had one on the go. She also delighted in playing Cribbage with her mother at tournaments and anyone else willing to play. While in the hospital, MANY Crib and Yahtzee games were had with both her daughters. During this time, she did most of the winning while getting high scoring hands after high scoring hands. Doreen enjoyed a daily cup of tea in the afternoon and was known at the Didsbury Hospital by the Royal Albert china cup she used for teatime with many nurses commenting on it.

Doreen’s work ethic started early while working on the family farm as a child. She was a hard worker, organized and took pride in everything she did. She was deeply compassionate towards the less fortunate as well, animal and nature advocacy groups. During her life she enjoyed camping, hiking, canoeing, cross country skiing, playing tennis and watching Calgary Flames hockey games. In 2016 issues with her heart valve appeared due to having rheumatic fever as a child. She went through not one, but 2 open heart surgeries to rectify this challenge. She was brave and persevered with whatever was thrown at her.

She will be dearly missed. Doreen is lovingly remembered by her older brother, Orville (Shirley); children, Joelle (Gerard) Battram-Fournier, Tara (Josh) Battram; many nieces, nephews, grand nieces and grand nephews. Doreen was predeceased by her brother, Ronald Ulry (1989); father, Cliff (1999); husband, Art Battram (2000) and mother, Leah (2015).

We send our admiration, appreciation and thank you to Dr. Brunner and all the staff at the Didsbury Hospital, the Emergency & Acute Care departments. Such amazing staff, summer practicum students, and it was so nice to get to know a lot of them through our stay.

A private family service will be held at a later date as per Doreen’s wishes and a social gathering in 2027.

In lieu of flowers, a donation in Doreen’s memory may be made to Yamnuska Wolfdog Sanctuary in Cochrane, Dogs with Wings, the SPCA, STARS, Field of Crosses and The Heart & Stroke Foundation.

Walk tall as the trees;

Live strong as the mountains;

Be gentle as the spring winds:

Keep the warmth of summer in your heart,

And the Great Spirit will always be with you.

Author Unknown