Obituary of Yvonne May Scott

July 16, 1934 – Calgary, Alberta
February 22, 2023 - Calgary, Alberta

Yvonne Scott (nee McCallum) beloved mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, passed away on Wednesday, February 22, 2023 at the age of 88 years.    

Yvonne will be dearly missed by her children, Randolph (Randy) Scott; daughter, Joanne Orcherton and her husband, Tom; granddaughter, Ruth and her partner, Robin; great-grandson, William and his soon to arrive little brother; daughter, Jaye-Dee Scott of Calgary; daughter, Roberta Walker and granddaughter, Maren; and dear family friend, Carol McDonell. She was predeceased by her father Robert McCallum, mother Catherine (Renee) McCallum (nee Nielsen), and daughter Jaye-Anne Fagan. Yvonne will also be deeply missed by long-time friends, Fran, Marilyn, Louise, and Joanne.

Yvonne also received loving outreach and spiritual care from friends Janice and Catherine of Knox United Church. Over the past five years while residing at AgeCare Walden Heights here in Calgary, Yvonne had made many new friendships and her loss is deeply felt by many residents and staff.

A born and raised Calgarian, Yvonne loved the city, the arts and culture scene, and of course her beloved Stampeders football team. She often fondly reminisced about being a 14-year-old girl, and heading down to the CPR station in downtown Calgary to greet the victorious Stamps returning to Calgary having won their first Grey Cup against the Ottawa Rough Riders in 1948. Her love for the game and the team also led her to become a “Stampeders Football Fever Girl” back in the day.

Growing up in Calgary, she attended McDougall, Sunalta and Central High School. Yvonne married D’Arcy Scott of Calgary, and lived in both Nelson, BC and Red Deer AB, in the early 1950’s, then returning in Calgary to raise the family. Yvonne had a long history of working in customer service in many retail stores in Calgary. Her love of people, friendly and outgoing personality, and bright smile were so well suited to her work. She also used to greatly love curling on a team at the Big Four, being a United Church CGIT group leader, and volunteering at the Calgary Police Service Interpretive Centre, the Jack Singer concert hall, and with the Friends of Reader Rock Garden Society.

Yvonne had a good long life, but not without trials and tribulations, at times more than she could bear, but she didn’t have to bear it alone as her family, faith, and friends provided her with much strength, comfort, and support during trying times. Going through a divorce at a young age, three bouts of cancer, the 2013 Calgary flood in which she not only became displaced out of her Mission condo and lost most of her personal belongings, but also had to endure the tremendous loss of most beloved friend, Lorraine Gerlitz. Mom’s resilience and tenacity were greatly tested, but her life lived to 88 years speaks well of her being a survivor.

Anyone who met Yvonne quickly learned that she had a passion for music – many genres and many decades of music. If you knew Yvonne you’d quickly learn “there’s a song for every occasion, and an occasion for every song”. From cement mixers, to celery stalks, to murdering the bugler, and more, dear Mom knew the song, would sing it for you, and the laughter and singing along with her would follow…unless you were begging her to stop! Good luck with that! Her favourite music followed the decades of her life, with a great array old classic jazz, country and western, 70’s and 80’s rock, and the songbooks of many Broadway musicals, and a wee bit of Bruno Mars and Lady Gaga peppered in.

Her sense of humour, puns, quips, and wordplay were well known to anyone who met her. Yvonne also had a great deal of compassion in her heart and demonstrated warmth and understanding to others, with a deep belief in the rights and dignity of all people, all faiths, and beliefs.

She held a great love of reading and crosswords until it became too difficult to continue with, but she was still able to enjoy many movies, TV programs, documentaries and keep informed about current affairs. She maintained a passion for perusing National Geographic magazines and loved learning more about history and other cultures and civilizations.

Mom had a caring soul, a good heart, and up until the time of her passing, loved good conversation, listening, and singing along to great music, going on outings, time with family and her friends, and a good “Cuba Libra” now and again…and a wee bit of Fireball as it turns out! A loving Cheers and Huzzah to our dear Mom, who will be greatly missed and always remembered.

The family sends heartfelt thanks to the staff at AgeCare Walden Heights, for the spiritual outreach by her friends at Knox United Church, and to the exemplary nursing team on Unit 58, South Health Campus for the tremendous end of life care of Mom.

Memorial Services will be held at McInnis & Holloway (Park Memorial, 5008 Elbow Drive SW, Calgary, AB) on Friday, March 3, 2023, at 10:30 a.m. Reception to follow in the Hospitality Centre at the Funeral Home. Condolences, memories, and photos may be shared and viewed here.

In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to a non-profit of your choosing or pay it forward in this world with a loving act of kindness.

In living memory of Yvonne Scott, a tree will be planted in the Ann & Sandy Cross Conservation Area by McInnis & Holloway Funeral Homes, Park Memorial, 5008 Elbow Drive SW, Calgary, AB T2S 2L5, Telephone: 403-243-8200.