Obituary of Sigrid Irene Bradshaw

February 22, 1924 - Drumheller, Alberta

May 22, 2023 - Calgary, Alberta

Mom passed away peacefully on the afternoon of Monday, May 22, 2023, at the Garrison Green Centre at the age of 99.

She was born Sigrid Irene Peterson in the Drumheller, Alberta hospital on February 22, 1924. Her mother Minerva Myers was born in Germfask, Michigan and immigrated with her family from Grand Rapids, Minnesota to homestead in the Lac Ste. Anne area. Her father Tony Peterson was born in Helsingfors, Sweden (now known as Helsinki, Finland). After working on sailing ships around the world and mining for gold in the Klondike he found his way to the Lac Ste. Anne area. There, he met Minerva. After the war, they married and moved to Rosedale where Tony found work in the coal mine. They had two children, our mother Sigrid and her older brother Frank.

Mom spent her youth in the small mining village of Rosedale, Alberta. Rosedale Camp, on the north side of the Red Deer River, was a small community of 32 homes without plumbing or telephones. In the early days, electricity was only available from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m. The family didn’t have a car. The children played “Ante-I-Over”, picked chokecherries, listened to records on the gramophone, and enjoyed homemade ice cream for Sunday dessert. Eventually, they managed to buy a small radio and they would listen to the Jack Benny show. It was a simple life, but Mom always said Rosedale Camp was a wonderful place to grow up.

After the war ended and Mom graduated from high school, she and a friend moved to Calgary to go to secretarial school. After they graduated from Calgary Business College they moved to San Francisco, California to seek work and see the world. Alas, Mom soon received news that her father Tony had been badly injured in a coal mining accident. She returned to Rosedale in 1947 to help with his care. Mom won her first photography contest, a $25.00 cash honorable mention, in the 1947 Newspaper National Snapshot Awards through the Edmonton Journal. This would be the beginning of her photography career. It was during this time that she met her future husband Darrell (Brad) Bradshaw. He had just returned from England where he had been an aircraft mechanic with the RCAF and was now working in the coal mine in Rosedale. He was also a local amateur boxer. Mom and Dad married in 1948.

A few years after marrying, they moved to Calgary where Mom worked as a legal secretary and Dad started training as an electrician. Later, in the early ’60s they opened The Country Boy. It was one of Calgary’s first drive-thru burger and ice cream joints and was very successful.

Mom’s interest in photography continued and she won many awards. Her favourite subjects were the prairies and the rodeo. She was a longtime member of the Foothills Camera Club.

Next, Mom and Dad moved to an acreage in the hamlet of Bragg Creek where Mom became the first president of The Bragg Creek Artisans. Her photography flourished and Dad handcrafted rustic frames for her photos.

Mom and Dad bought a motorhome initially to follow the rodeo circuit and later to travel throughout Canada, the U.S. and Mexico. They met and remained friends with many people along the way.

They were very social and loved to dance, laugh, tell stories, and spend time with their many friends, especially Don and Sylvia Hildt.

It was a life well lived.

Sigrid was predeceased by Brad, her husband of 69 years, in 2017.

She is lovingly remembered by her daughters, Bonnie and Tina (Bill), and her son Tracy (Sue).

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

In living memory of Sigrid Bradshaw, 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.