Like my sisters, some of my earliest and best memories from growing up centered around Bernie and Al's cottage in Windermere. The garden kept by Bernie in the backyard would make any gardener jealous - I can remember being her 'helper' some late afternoons in summer with harvesting fresh vegetables that we would use for dinner. One of the crafts we did with Grandma was to make stepping stones for the garden - each of us made one that was personalized and got a special place in the soil. Another memory that sticks out to me was when I hurt my finger by having it shut in a car door just after arriving at Windermere for a weekend. Grandma came out to rescue me with a frozen treat (a Freezie if anyone remembers these!) and sat with me while I simultaneously devoured it and iced my hand. I remember thinking how cool a Grandma she was.

Grandma's love and zest for life will be so missed. I've learned so much from her and will carry her spirit forward with me.

All my love,

Leah

My Grandma was an amazing woman who I looked up to and felt inspired by the amount of energy she had. She had a zest for life and found fun in everything she did. Some of my favourite memories of her that hold a very special place in my heart, are memories from the cottage in Windermere.

Grandma had many talents, and one of them was painting. She painted an "animal room" at the cottage for her grandchildren with cheetahs, lions, monkeys and more on the wall. She also hand sewed all these fabulous animal costumes and dresses for us to wear. I have so many good memories spent in that room with my cousins laughing, playing dress up and various board games.

Another memory I have from the cottage was when I made a stepping stone for the garden with Grandma. She provided beautiful gems, beads and glass pieces and helped me press them into a design in the wet cement. Having a love for creating art, I remember thinking, "Wow Grandma is so cool and has the best crafts!"

I have so many memories of my Grandma that I will hold close to my heart for the rest of my life. You will be dearly missed by everyone, Grandma. I hope you are partying it up in heaven and enjoying a gin & tonic!

Lots of love, Claire

As many have noted, Bernie was an extraordinary individual. She had limitless capacity for fun and organizing fun for others. But there was always a productive thread woven through it.

For example, I remember many years ago Bernie hand-made a beautiful wine tasting vest for me. This vest still hangs in my closet and gets worn at special wine-tastings. At one point, for a few years, the vest travelled around Calgary, worn home by the winner of our wine tasting, until the next wine tasting where it would again be the coveted prize for the next proud winner.

Another of my favourite memories (another wine memory; coincidence?) was watching Bernie enjoy a glass of an icewine I had opened. After her initial sip, she proceeded to down the rest of the glass in one gulp, followed by a “Woohoo!”

I also always marvelled at her light-up t-shirt collection (yes, she actually had more than one), and in particular one that had electric Christmas lights that plugged into a portable battery so her shirt would blink off and on. That always made me smile at Christmas dinners.

I always felt accepted and welcomed by Bernie from the very beginning after I met Margie and was introduced to her family. Bernie was always very kind to me. I will never forget and will always treasure our last conversation together by her bedside, the Friday before she passed. She asked me if I was still able to enjoy skiing given the pandemic and she also really wanted my help to get out of bed for a visit and dinner which was about to be served.

I love you very much Bernie and miss you.

Your son-in-law, Paul

A Message from long-term friends and former neighbours in Edmonton:

Losing both your parents on the same day is so overwhelming. I send you all my sympathy. So many memories of our years as neighbours in Edmonton.

Thinking of the day we visited you on your ranch in the Foothills. What a lovely spot with incredible views!

Thinking of you and your family.

Marjorie Hollands

Bernie was a special lady, always ready to try something new and different for herself or withr friends. She was a loving wife, a devoted mother and a true friend. We have many fond memories of time spent with Bernie and Al ~ especially a South American cruise and a Rocky Mountain train expidition. Our deepest sympathy to Al and family ~ Ross and Ellenore Campbell

My Grandma Warden was an incredibly strong women who was both hero for raising 10 children and a true inspiration to everyone she met. She was an amazing cook and a very crafty women who I took after. My hobbies of sewing, scrapbook making, gardening, knitting, and baking, are largely thanks to her. She sewed my cousin Anna and I Hamster Costumes for Halloween in Grade 3, which must've taken hours to complete. She also sewed together my childhood blanket when it started to fall apart and sewed me a cape for a performance in elementary school.

When my younger brother Carter and I were younger, we brought over our puppy Chloe to Grandmas house for a sleepover. After we finished watching a movie, we suddenly noticed a foul smell and noticed that Chloe pooped all over the floor!! While some people may have gotten mad, we were laughing for about an hour.

She would often come to my Dance performances to see me on stage and would always be cheering loudly. I always loved how she managed to bring people together, I feel fortunate for the amazing large family we have thanks to her. I will cherish our drives up to our old cabin as we would make stops along the way at little museums or beautiful nature spots.

Grandma was an amazing cook and was always creating a new dish, her house always smelled lovely. She made amazing pies and always had ice cream on hand to add with it. She was was full of energy and a zest for exploration and travel. I would love to sit with her as she showed me scrapbooks of photos from her youth and the stories that would go along with it. Grandma had such a beautiful and gentle soul and I will always remember her gracefulness.

Grandma, you are loved and dearly missed. I will cherish our memories forever.

Love,

Kailee Fawcett

The Warden family was a very important part of Youth Singers of Calgary for many years. Their talented daughter Sarah was a Youth Singer throughout her High School years. Bernie and Al were the greatest examples of strong supporters of the YSC organization. Bernie quickly became a lead in the Wardrobe Department and nothing was too much for her. She loved the performers and worked tirelessly to design and build beautiful outfits for their numerous performances. Many of her designs are still a part of the wardrobe inventory. Bernie was a friend to all teens and staff and everyone loved her. She was a team player and no challenge was too great. Bernie got the job done!! We will always remember and be grateful for this remarkable woman!!

Shirley Penner (Founder & CEO) & husband Don McLean, the YSC Board of Directors, management, staff, performers, alumni and supporters of the Youth Singers of Calgary

Sincere condolences to all of the family on the loss of your wonderful mother and grandmother. Memories are blessings and you have an abundance of those.

Bernie was fearless and would tackle anything. She and Al introduced us to the concept of the gourmet group which is still going after 45years. She had that Julia Child attitude towards cooking with abandon and it was always fun, although sometimes we had to put a limit on the number of dishes on the menu!

Of course we remember visits to the cabin at Sylvan Lake, Oakville and later to Windermere. We were a bit in awe of her various projects and admired her as a nurse and the mother of 10. She was an example to me particularly as I adopted son David, and her advice when I was torn about going back to work: "You can deprive your kids without leaving home." We miss her at our gatherings for so many reasons.

Thinking of you Al and I hoping you will join us as a guest again.

Joan Spaven

Bernie was a remarkable woman. Arlene and I particularly noticed her artistic creativity, her love of good food, wine, but above all the company of family and friends. With a paintbrush she could decorate a small bathroom that would be unique, and with a saw and hammer anything must surely have been possible. Our sincere condolences to Alan and family.

Arlene and Glen Johnston.

,

One of the things that I will always remember most about my grandma is her incredible ability to bring people together. I owe a lot of my favourite childhood memories to her. From huge family gatherings at the cottage in Windermere (bunking with my cousins in the 'jungle room' that grandma hand-painted herself) to smaller Easter dinners at grandma and grandpa's house in University Heights, my extended family has always been a really significant part of my childhood and upbringing.

My grandma's love and dedication to her grandchildren was impressive. When I was around 7 years old, my cousin Kailee and I developed a huge love for all things hamsters. Upon our request, grandma must have taken hours to make hamster costumes from scratch for us to wear trick-or-treating on Halloween. Not only did she sew us hamster costumes from scratch, but they were modeled after our very own pet hamsters (Bamboo and Hamtaro). Her skills with a sewing machine were unmatched!

One of my favourite things about Christmas every year was getting to eat Christmas dinner and spend time with family at grandma and grandpa's house. Grandma always did a fantastic job with the Christmas tree and she had an amazing collection of ornaments. Grandma helped me get my own Christmas tree ornament collection started by adding one ornament to my collection every year at Christmas. I still have all of those ornaments and I can't wait to hang them up on my own Christmas tree someday.

When grandma and grandpa were trying to come up with a name for their adorable new Cavalier King Charles Spaniel puppy, they graciously asked my sister Claire and I if we had any name ideas. We were so excited to help out with the naming process, and we offered up a long handwritten list that included names like "Spotty", "Spots", and "Buddy". Luckily, they decided to go in another direction - Sophie! I feel so lucky to have gotten to see grandma, grandpa, and Sophie almost every day during my last two years of high school. Most days, I dropped our dog Indy off in the mornings and sometimes picked him up in the afternoons, and I would get to visit with my grandparents at that time too. Grandma was a dog lover, and Indy and Sophie loved her back. Sometimes it was hard to get Indy to leave, and I would have to pry him off the couch!

Thank you, grandma, for all of the amazing memories.

Lots of love,

Anna Howard

Our Mom had a playful side and would occasionally pull pranks and tricks with her friends or on her family to add some joy to their day. I remember as a kid how she liked to pull “donuts” on the icy roads while driving with us stuffed in the back of our wood-paneled Ford station wagon. Or how a friend of hers told us how she would convince the neighborhood ladies to “play hooky” for the afternoon and attend a game of bridge at a friend’s home. Or how she would convince the local Police to cordon off our street so that we could all have a neighborhood street party and dance.

As for my own personal upbringing, my Mom realized that I was not a gifted athlete in Junior High, and I was not fitting in that well with the cool kids at school. As many of you from that era might know; as a boy in your early teenage years your status is closely tied to how well you did at sports. She saw that my lack of skill in hockey, baseball and basketball was causing me to withdraw socially. So, she encouraged me to keep trying out different sports to discover something I might like. When I showed an interest in skiing, she supported that in any way she possibly could. When I was 12 years old (in Grade Seven) I mentioned to her that I thought it would be cool if a group of my friends could go on a ski trip to Banff for the upcoming Teachers Convention. I figured we could hop on the Big 3 Ski Bus and stay by ourselves for the weekend in the Y Mountain Chalet. To her this sounded good and she thought nothing of the idea that a handful of 12-year old boys might be staying, unchaperoned, in a Banff hotel for the long weekend.

However, when I ran this idea by my buddies, each of their parents shot the idea down immediately. Bernie, of course, would have none of that. So, she picked up the phone and individually persuaded each Mother that this would “build character” and “teach responsibility” for their sons. Thanks to her, my 3 wide-eyed buddies and myself headed off on a 4-night ski holiday that Teachers convention and had a blast. Little did I know that this would become a formative experience that would go on to shape my eventual career. Word quickly got around Branton Junior High about the trip and next year we had 8 buddies. Then the following year 12 buddies. This then led to me becoming the President of the QE High School Ski Club and then eventually the President of the University of Calgary Ski Club. Which naturally became the steppingstone leading to my creation of Bust Loose Holidays, which continued to grow exponentially in the numbers of people coming to join in on the fun each year on the trips. Who knows what I might be doing today had my mother not shown that early belief in me and encouraged me to try something new that sounded fun and adventurous?

Sadly, I can’t imagine that the world will ever see another women like my Mom again. We all just lost an incredible source of love and energy today.

However, like my Mom would say, you should always look at the bright side. If you add up all the years that all of her “flesh & blood” (kids/grandkids/great grandkids) have been alive, that is over 1100 years of her next of kin living on this planet. The love and energy and “sense of goodness” that she bestowed upon her prodigy is in the DNA of each of us. I believe that all of us in the family will innately continue to share that love, energy and goodness into the world around us. With this DNA “a whole bunch of Bernie Warden” will continue to live on inside of us today and undoubtedly will continue to live on inside of our extended family for many generations to come

I Love you Mom!

I am sure that you are up there organizing a great dinner or social occasion in Heaven right now, hopefully with a nice gin & tonic in your hand. We were so blessed to have you as our guiding light during your time here on earth, Mom. Thanks for instilling your joy of life on all of us. You have handed us the torch. It is now up to us to proudly carry it forward for you into the future. If we can carry fulfill this mission with even a fraction of your passion and energy, we will have succeeded in spades!

Rest in Peace, Mom.

We all love you so much!

Glenn Fawcett

I remember fondly how Mrs Warden made me always feel welcomed in her home. She was a great conversationalist whose anecdotes, stories and wit made time together a pleasure. I’m very glad I had her influence as a child, and that I got to know her. My deepest condolences to all of the family.