Edna Spicer

It’s with sad and heavy hearts that we are announcing the death of Edna Florence Spicer in the early hours of Sunday, December 10th, 2023. She passed peacefully, in the presence of loved ones, at Rockyview Hospital in Calgary. Edna is lovingly remembered by her husband, Lloyd; her sons, Kirk (Joanne), Grant (Jane), and Jason (Deirdre); grandchildren, Alexa, Amanda, Ashleigh, Curtis (Shayla), Luke and Abiagael; great-grandchildren, Madelyn, and the twins Easton and Axel; her many nieces and nephews, including Deborah and her daughter Karly; and special friends, Paul and Carol Butuk, Gwen Smith, and Colin and Yolanda Sampson. She is predeceased by her parents; her siblings, Leroy, Ernie, Bill, and Rose; her infant son, Robert; as well as her granddaughter, Sarah.

She was born Edna Florence Tompke, on July 18th, 1942, to Edward and Florence in the little farming community of Lake Alma, in southern Saskatchewan. She was the youngest of five siblings. She grew up modestly and enjoyed riding her horse and playing music with her friends and family. She excelled at singing and playing guitar, with her signature song being “Me and Bobbie Magee”. She grew into a beautiful young woman, and eventually becoming a nursing assistant at the Weyburn Union Hospital. In Weyburn, she met Lloyd Spicer while on a blind date. He was training to be an accountant and it turned out that they had much in common, and they were married on October 26th, 1963. And so began a remarkable example of love, commitment and teamwork that lasted six decades. They moved several times over the years usually for work and required that Edna adapt to new environments and locations often very different from the last one. Edna was up for the challenge; first to big city of Regina, SK and then to the village of Minton, SK, a tiny town close to the U.S. border, and the Big Muddy, then to the resort community of Chase B.C. on the Shuswap, and then to a farm near Halbrite, SK. In the late 1970s, Edna and Lloyd bought a small business named Prairie Pump Service, and built their first home on Brimacombe Dr., in Weyburn. Edna loved having her own home and they did the painting and landscaping work including the large deck, the stone fountain, and the beautiful gardens. The house was open to the boy’s friends with lots of memories created. With the sale of the business, they moved to an acreage in Summerland, B.C., that contained a small apple orchard. With only one child left at home, Edna returned to the nursing field, trained as an L.P.N and worked at a nursing home. She enjoyed caring for these dear ones as well as the chores involved in being an orchardist. After several years they said goodbye to Summerland and finally retired to the Alberta foothills at Black Diamond. This proved to be their last move, but they didn’t stay retired for long as they decided to buy the historic Black Diamond Hardware store. They enjoyed providing an important service to the community. Lloyd and Edna became “fixtures” along with Charlie, their Jack Russell terrier, and their gorgeous geranium display in the front window. They closed the store in 2002, and transitioned into property management and spending time at their cabin at Buffalo Lake, near Stettler. Edna was blessed with an abundance of energy with a practical nature. She liked to be busy and took great pride in taking care of her home and yard, as well as her family. And while cooking wasn’t her favorite task, she did enjoy baking, especially her dinner buns and bread, using the giant green Tupperware bowl. Other special occasion dishes included a pistachio shortbread dessert, spaghetti and meatballs, a delicious Galliano bundt cake and her famous oatmeal chocolate cookies. Edna also cared for the family pets, even down to grooming which she became very proficient at. She could be seen walking the dog in the neighborhood at least once a day. They had mostly dogs with the occasional cat. She took great pride in her sons’ accomplishments, with Kirk and Jason becoming pharmacists, and Grant becoming a Calgary firefighter. Edna also enjoyed spending time with her grandchildren and now great grandchildren. She was a strong, capable and determined woman who will greatly be missed by all who knew and loved her.