Obituary of Retta Arvilla Bolger

September 10, 1951 - Englehart, Ontario

June 22, 2023 - Calgary, Alberta

Retta Arvilla Bolger née Winters (71), of Calgary, Alberta, passed away on June 22, 2023.

Retta was born on September 10, 1951, in Englehart, Ontario to Ellis and Arvilla Winters. After Retta graduated from New Liskeard High School, she went on to study nursing at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) in Toronto, Ontario.  She nursed in Nanaimo, BC; St John’s, NL; Haileybury, ON; Sparwood, BC; and Calgary, AB. She worked in a variety of fields, including OBGYN, palliative care, home health, occupational health, and accident and emergency.  In 1977, Retta married Dennis Bolger and they went on to have two children, Sarah, and Shannon.

In her spare time, and specifically in her retirement, she loved gardening. When she wasn’t gardening, she was reading. She loved to play games on her iPad. She loved to travel. She loved to laugh. She loved to spend time with family and friends. To her family and friends, Retta was a confidant and a shoulder to cry on, someone always willing to share a joke, and someone who built up everyone around her. She wanted all of us to be better and she set a shining example. One of her proudest achievements was becoming a grandma. She loved being a grandma to Lincoln and she was really good at it. 

Retta is survived by husband, Dennis Bolger, daughters, Sarah Vessey and Shannon Bolger; grandson Lincoln Vessey, mother Arvilla Winters of Temiskaming Shores, ON, sister Linda (John) Charlton of Henderson, NV, and brother Randy (Wendy) Winters of Temiskaming Shores, ON. She was predeceased by her father, Ellis Winters of Temiskaming Shores, ON and her sister, Marilyn (Terry) Hearn of Brantford, ON.

Funeral Services will be held at McInnis & Holloway Funeral Homes (Fish Creek, 14441 Bannister Rd SE, Calgary, AB) on Saturday, July 8, 2023 at 2:00 p.m. Condolences, memories, and photos may be shared and viewed at www.MHFH.com. If friends so desire, in lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Heart and Stroke (www.heartandstroke.ca) and Diabetes Canada (www.diabetes.ca), both organizations Retta felt strongly about.

Many thanks to the EMS and fire fighters who responded from the Midnapore Fire Station 26 and the emergency room and ICU staff at Rockyview General Hospital.

In living memory of Retta Bolger, 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.