Beryl VALESTUK
Beryl VALESTUK
Beryl VALESTUK
Beryl VALESTUK
Beryl VALESTUK
Beryl VALESTUK

Obituary of Beryl VALESTUK

August 20, 1928 – Montreal, Quebec
January 1, 2021– Calgary, Alberta

Beryl Valestuk of Calgary, AB, passed away on Friday, January 1, 2021 at the age of 92 years.

Our darling Beryl—much adored wife, mom, grandma, sister, aunt and friend—slipped quietly away to see what’s on the other side, leaving us so grateful to have known her quick wit, her elegance, her kindness and her fierce love. 

A woman of wide-ranging intellect and curiosity, Beryl was a bookworm beyond compare and our home library rivalled that of most CPL branches, with everything from cozy mysteries to Churchill’s multi-volume memoirs, biographies of artists and politicians and queens, natural histories, National Geographic, travelogues, and novels. Her excitement at outfitting the house with a full set of Encyclopedia Britannica in the early 1970s was contagious and we busily set about trying to match her knowledge, turning into lifelong learners and feminists in the process. We are forever in her debt for these gifts.

Mom took us outside to watch meteorites shoot through the night sky, caterpillars inch across our arms, thunder storms roar down the Columbia Valley. Her photo albums are filled with pictures of robins, clouds, impossibly high banks of snow, and trees in blossom, and we will think of her whenever the natural world surprises and delights us in its beauty and intricacy. 

We will forever remember the Scrabble smackdowns executed with cunning and grace, her famous sarcasm, her willingness to have her house transformed into a massive pillow fort by roving bands of grandchildren, garden tea parties and birthday cakes that sort of slid to one side. 

Born and raised in Montreal, Beryl headed west in the early 60s to marry Alexander; they were inseparable until his death in November 2020. She is survived by her daughters, Lorraine (Luke Bresky), Catherine (Gavin Fitch) and Elizabeth (Charles Henderson), and will be deeply missed by her beloved grandchildren, Winona, Lucy and Eleanor Fitch and Lief Bresky. She is also survived by her dear sister Joyce Trafford and brother Bill Buzan.

Thank you to the wonderful Dr. Patricia Bryden, everyone at United Active Living Fish Creek, and the compassionate people at Chinook Hospice.

We will miss her forever but are comforted in knowing that Beryl left this world unafraid. In memory of her love of small creatures, please feed your backyard birds this winter. 

Condolences, memories and photos may be shared and viewed on Beryl’s obituary at www.McInnisandHolloway.com. In lieu of flowers, the family would appreciate a small donation to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (https://www.llscanada.org), the Calgary Humane Society (calgaryhumane.ca) or the Calgary Public Library Foundation (https://libraryfoundation.ca/).

In living memory of Beryl Valestuk, a tree will be planted in the Ann & Sandy Cross Conservation Area by McINNIS & HOLLOWAY FUNERAL HOMES, Fish Creek, 14441 Bannister Road SE, Calgary, AB T2X 3J3, Telephone: 403-256-9575.
 

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