Obituary of Magdalene Welty

March 23, 1933 - Macklin, Saskatchewan
October 31, 2023 - Calgary, Alberta

Magdalene (Georgie) Welty passed away on Tuesday, October 31, 2023, after a brief illness.

Magdalene was born on March 23, 1933, on the farm near Macklin, SK, the fifth of seven children of Kilian and Ramona Abt. When she was a young girl, the family relocated to the Ponoka, AB area and that is really where her story started. She was a free-spirited child who had a penchant for mischief and sometimes found herself on the wrong side of her older sisters playing outside or on the piano, while her sisters worked. Magdalene attended Manitou school near the family farm, where she walked a mile and a half each way - on flat ground. After Grade 8, she finished high school at St. Angela’s Convent near Prelate, SK, then earned her teaching certificate at the Saskatoon Normal School and began her career as a teacher in Saskatchewan. During this time, she also achieved Grade 6 Honours in Piano from the Toronto Conservatory of Music, a challenge for her because she didn’t care about music theory, she just wanted to play.

In 1963, Magdalene decided change was in order and relocated to High Prairie, AB. It was at this time that she earned the moniker George (Auntie George or Georgie) that she carried proudly for the rest of her life. She taught in High Prairie for a year before starting the incredible tour of small towns teaching in Peace River and Jasper, AB, Estevan and Weyburn, SK, and playing the accordion in a few old-time bar bands, before settling in Calgary, AB, and a long tenure at St. Matthew School. In August 1975, Georgie married Clarence Welty. They had a long and happy marriage until his death in 2020 and were known for travelling across Canada and the USA, usually on long road trips, occasionally on a plane, and taking their numerous nieces and nephews for supper or drinks. Georgie lived her life by what was most important to her – family, friends, music, laughter, her faith and the Calgary Flames. She lived a long and wonderful life and will be deeply missed.

Georgie is survived by her sister, Catherine (Kay); and sisters-in-law, Adelle and Betty. She was predeceased by her parents, Kilian and Ramona, her siblings, and their spouses, John (Beatrice), Marie, brother-in-law Mike, Pete (Jean), Leo and Markus, Clarence’s parents and siblings and three generations of nieces and nephews, too numerous to name.

Funeral Mass will be celebrated at St. Bonaventure Parish, 1600 Acadia Drive SE, Calgary, AB, on Wednesday, November 8, 2023 at 2:30 pm. Condolences, memories, and photos may be shared and viewed here.

If friends so desire, memorial tributes may be made to the Calgary Flames Foundation, P.O. Box 1540, Station M, Calgary, AB, T2P 3B9, www.calgaryflamesfoundation.com.

In living memory of Georgie, 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.