Verla McColm

Verla was born in Nisku, Alberta on July 19, 1933, the 6th of 8 children, and grew up on a farm outside Gainford AB. She left home after Grade 8 to work, and joined the RCAF, where she met the love of her life, Terry. They exchanged love letters for 2 years and married in Feb 1956. Verla retired to raise 4 children, and she said later that if kids stayed under 5 years old, she would have had a dozen!

As an RCAF family, transfers happened every 4 years in the summer. With Terry’s career the family lived in Cold Lake, AB twice, Trenton ON, Metz, France and Greenwood NS. Verla was a stay-at-home mom with a thriving home seamstress business, creating everything from drapes to wedding gowns to any kind of alteration. She was a creative genius, whether it be specialized birthday cakes for kids, matching square dancing outfits, Halloween costumes, coats, or jean jackets. Summers were spent camping, swimming, fishing, and tons of picking every kind of berry growing! She only went back to work in a grocery store when the kids were teenagers in NS.

In 1975 Terry retired from the Air Force to purchase a motel, restaurant, campsite combination with family in Lacombe, AB, and he and Verla built and ran a very successful business for 2 years, then retired again to Kelowna, BC. Verla educated herself in Kelowna and worked first as a Health Care Aide for years, and then as a Hairdresser, and finally with the BC government entertaining Seniors with teas, music, and crafts.

In 1994 Verla and Terry returned to AB, built a house in Innisfail, and spent many years quilting, crafting, and building unique gifts. They won yearly ribbons and prizes at the annual Fairs, and after that Verla became a travelling quilting judge as her eye for color, patterns and perfection was second to none. They relocated once again in 2014 to a condo complex in Red Deer close to hospital facilities for Terry, where activities, dances, potluck dinners and holiday celebrations kept them busy and engaged. After Terry passed away in 2019 Verla was proud to say she chose to live in a Lodge where she could remain independent but have meals provided. Verla initiated a seated daily exercise program with the Recreation Director in her building, and walked miles every day, rain, shine or snow. When icy she combined her walk with shopping in the mall. She was a positive and happy influence with her companions in the building and will be missed in her exercise chair.

Verla was a loving, hardworking, cheerful, fiercely loyal, extremely private, beautiful woman inside and out. She rarely complained, as she said it did no good, and overcame huge health obstacles like a cyst on her spine, and almost total blindness. Her motto was “Eat dessert first”, loved French fries, anything barbequed, and the lure of casino machines.

Verla was predeceased by her husband, her parents, and all 7 of her siblings. She is loving remembered by her children, Lynn (Ken), Shawn (Susan), Karen (Joe), and Ben (Linda); 14 grandchildren, and 16 great-grandchildren. I remember Terry telling Verla how proud he was of the legacy that they both created out of their 63-year marriage.