Obituary of Shirley May Ochitwa

May 31, 1936 -Francis, Saskatchewan

August 19, 2022 - Calgary, Alberta

Shirley Ochitwa (nee Watson), beloved wife of Arthur Ochitwa, of Calgary, AB, passed away peacefully on Friday, August 19, 2022, at the age of 86 years.

Shirley was born and raised in Francis, SK. When her grandmother living in Keeler, SK fell ill her family moved to help with her care and the farm. She went to Prince Albert, SK to complete high school and then set off to find her future in Regina, SK. It was there she met and married Arthur in 1953 and had two children. She left her work at the Government of Saskatchewan when in 1969, her family moved to Edmonton, AB.  There Shirley was hired on at Grant MacEwan Community College, an institution she really enjoyed working for. She was a very accomplished administrative assistant and her employers were very appreciative of her skills and strong work ethic. A few years after her retirement she and Arthur moved to Calgary AB following their children.

Shirley was particularly proud of her 64-year marriage, her two children, and two grandchildren. Besides looking after her family, Shirley’s passion was gardening. Her family affectionately gave her the nickname “Rosy Tomato” as she was especially talented at growing roses and tomatoes. She always said, “the mountains are nice to look at but I’ll take the prairies any day because the rock can’t feed you like the soil of the prairies can.” She will be fondly remembered and missed by many for being a good cook and a great baker. Shirley and Art loved to go camping and fishing every chance they had. In her later years she finally had the time to do something she loved that previously she rarely had time to do; read books.

Shirley loved to watch sports. CFL games, especially if the Saskatchewan Rough Riders were playing; NHL games particularly if the Calgary Flames or Edmonton Oilers were playing and needed her coaching and also men’s and ladies curling, cheering on the teams from Alberta and Saskatchewan. Her fondest and most entertaining vacation memories were going to Hawaii and California with Arthur’s brother Bill and his wife Shirley. She always wanted to go back to Hawaii.

Shirley will be greatly missed by her daughter Deborah of Calgary, AB; son and daughter-in-law, Douglas and Julee of Calgary, AB; two grandchildren, Rebecca and Samuel of Calgary, AB; and Angela and Charmaine. Shirley is also survived by her sister Margaret Walker of Victoria, BC; sisters-in-law Dorothy Watson of Calgary, AB and Shirley Ochitwa of Regina, SK; three brothers-in-law and their wives, Ken (Adeline) of Red Deer, AB, Mervin (Dale) of Medicine Hat, AB and Ron (Sandee) of Regina, SK; her two “adopted” grandchildren, Brianna and Cameron of Airdrie, AB; as well as numerous nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends spread across BC, AB and SK.

Shirley was predeceased by her husband, Arthur Ochitwa, her parents May Chick and George Watson, three brothers and two sisters-in-law, Andrew and Lilian, Norman, Donald Watson and Garfelda. Also, four brothers-in-law, Ian Walker, Metro (Noreen), Bill, and Ernie Ochitwa.

Memorial Services will be held at a later date. Condolences, memories, and photos can also be shared and viewed here. If friends so desire, memorial tributes may be made directly to the Canadian Lung Association, 885 Meadowlands Dr., Suite 502, Ottawa, ON, K2C 3N2 Telephone: 1-888-566-LUNG (5864), www.lung.ca or to the Kidney Foundation of Canada, 6007 – 1A Street S.W., Calgary, AB T2H 0G5 Telephone: (403) 255-6108, www.kidney.ca.

The family sends a huge thank you to the excellent, caring, kind, dedicated nursing staff, doctors, and therapists in the Critical Care department and Unit 93 at the Rockyview General hospital and the staff who looked after Shirley at Carewest Garrison Green. Also, A big thank you to Drt. J. Eley, her long-time physician for always going above and beyond. We also want to thank the most caring, and kind neighbours we could have wished for mom to live near. They were always willing to lend a helping hand or  have a friendly visit.

In living memory of Shirley Ochitwa, 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.