Obituary of McILVEEN – Alberta Bert May

December 27, 1910 – August 2, 2009 Bert McIlveen of Calgary passed away on Sunday August 2, 2009 at the age of 98 years. Bert was born in December of 1910 at 310 10th Street N.W. in Sunnyside where a Safeway is now located. Her delivery was assisted by her grandmother, Mrs. Mary Campbell White, who was one of Calgary’s first midwives. When Bert was three months old, her family, George White and Elsie Barraclough, moved to a homestead northeast of Youngstown, AB and lived in a sod house for a few years until a wooden house was built. After seventeen years on the prairie, they moved back to Calgary. She learned to drive when she was fifty-five after her husband died. She loved to fish and travel in the camper van and go gold panning. She also loved to hike and did so with her son John when she was seventy years old over Dolomite Pass with a twenty pound knapsack. She loved her yard, flower garden and the bird feeders were her joy. Bert liked the “Happy Rum hour”. She will always be remembered for her warmth, enthusiasm for life, courage, and her down to earth common sense. Bert will be greatly missed by her daughter Marjorie; son John; grandson Alan McIlveen; nephews, Kirk (Diana) of Calgary and Terry White in Nelson, BC; and nieces and cousins in BC, Alberta and California. She was predeceased by her husband John Wesley in 1963; one younger sister Estele Bateman and two brothers, Edwin and Fred. Funeral Services will be held at McINNIS & HOLLOWAY’S, Chapel of the Bells (2720 Centre Street North) on Friday, August 21, 2009 at 2:00 p.m. Graveside Service to follow at Queens Park Cemetery. Forward condolences through www.mcinnisandholloway.com. In lieu of flowers, memorial tributes may be made directly to the Bow View Manor, 4628 Montgomery Blvd. N.W., Calgary, AB T3B 0K7, Telephone: (403) 288-4446 or to the charity of the donor’s choice. Thank you to the wonderful Bow View Manor staff, also to Dr. I. Clarke and Dr. Todd. In living memory of Alberta McIlveen, a tree will be planted at Fish Creek Provincial Park by McINNIS & HOLLOWAY FUNERAL HOMES, Chapel of the Bells, 2720 CENTRE STREET NORTH Telephone: (403) 276-2296.