Obituary of Lorraine Dorothy DREWES-OUELLET

May 31, 1951 – Winnipeg, Manitoba

June 30, 2021 – Calgary, Alberta

Lorraine Dorothy Drewes-Ouellet, beloved wife of Patrick Joseph Ouellet of Calgary, AB passed away on Thursday, June 30, 2021 at the age of 70 years after a courageous battle with colon cancer.

Lorraine was born in Winnipeg, MB on May 31, 1951. Her family then moved to Palo, SK, where she began her early schooling in a one-room schoolhouse. They moved to Calgary in 1964, where she completed high school and graduated from the University of Calgary with a degree in geophysics. For the last 20 years, Lorraine worked for Southland Transportation driving buses with elementary school children.

Lorraine had a great sense of wonder, curiosity, and profound reverence for wild places. Her passion for outdoor endeavors led her to join the Alpine Club of Canada shortly after moving to Calgary. She then developed a deeper relationship with the natural world through alpine climbing, ski touring and mountaineering. While becoming immersed in the pioneering age of climbing exploration in the Canadian Rocky Mountains, she met her future husband, Patrick Ouellet, while working at the Hostel Shop. Lorraine married Patrick in 1982.

In 1977, she was part of the first female expedition up Mount Logan with a team of six women. Lorraine and the team spent 24 days climbing the mountain and several days waiting out a severe storm until descending in one long day, just a few hundred yards from the summit.

Lorraine has two children: her daughter Jessica was born in 1981 and her son Joshua was born in 1983. Lorraine and Pat instilled a deep appreciation for outdoor recreation and wilderness in their two kids through the many trips and adventures they did as a family. When their children were 4 and 2 years old, Lorraine and Pat took them on the West Coast Trail for a week-long backpacking trip. That early trip was one of many that the family would take together over the years, including an array of paddling, ski touring, and backpacking trips ranging from the eastern slopes of the Rockies to the Pacific to the far north. During the 1990’s and 2000’s Lorraine and the family were active members of the Bow Waters Canoe Club, which allowed them to develop their skills, explore a variety of special places and meet some great friends with similar interests. Furthermore, Lorraine enjoyed participating daily in aquacise and fitness classes. Fitness was a strong value of Lorraine’s which was additionally supported by her uncountable daily hikes and bikes up nearby Nose Hill and our local foothills/mountains.

Lorraine was extensively multifaceted and active in a variety of communities. She and Pat regularly volunteered with Theatre Calgary and Vertigo Theatre and were completely captivated by all the excellent dramas and mysteries. Lorraine also volunteered at other Calgary theatre companies, including Lunchbox Theatre, whenever she could fit it into her schedule. She was a Calgary Folk Festival volunteer in merchandise for ten years, along with her sister, Louise. Lorraine was a skilled driver who drove school buses for Southland for years, thoroughly enjoying interacting with the students on her many routes.

She will be most remembered for her zest for life, her great sense of humor and her huge heart. She was a great listener who had a unique way of developing sincerely meaningful relationships with a variety of people. Her legacy is a deep and abiding joy in the outdoors that she has passed on to her children and grandchildren, all of whom have been active in a variety of pursuits from an early age. Lorraine’s passion for the outdoors and wilderness is forever remembered by her loving family; her presence will always be felt in these sacred wild spaces that her family explores. We love you forever, Nana Lo. Lorraine’s favourite saying to friends, when saying goodbye, was “Don’t be a stranger”.

Besides her loving husband Patrick, Lorraine is survived by her daughter Jessica and son-in-law, Tim Davies and their children, Fisher and Bennett, of Calgary, as well as her son Joshua and daughter-in-law, Natasha Morris and their children, Chloe and Rudi, of Calgary. Lorraine is also survived by her sister Louise and brother-in-law Bruce Adie of Nanton, AB, as well as their two sons, Robert Adie and David Adie of Edmonton, AB. Lorraine was predeceased by her father and mother, George Henry Drewes and Joyce Louise Bell Drewes Thomas.

Condolences, memories and photos can also be shared and viewed here.

In living memory of Lorraine Drewes-Ouellet, a tree will be planted in the Ann & Sandy Cross Conservation Area by McINNIS & HOLLOWAY FUNERAL HOMES, Chapel of the Bells, 2720 CENTRE STREET NORTH, CALGARY, AB T2E 2V6, Telephone: 403-243-8200.