August 4, 1931 - June 27, 2019
It is with sadness that we announce that Lorraine Marie Campbell passed away on June 27, 2019, in 100 Mile House, B.C. She was a beloved mother, grandmother, great grandmother, sister-inlaw, auntie and dear friend - she will be missed dearly.
Lorraine was born August 4, 1931 in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta. She was the youngest of 9 children born to Josephine and Oliver Demars. She spent her younger years on the family farm in the Gibbons area until the age of 12 when her dad sold the farm at auction. She moved several times, often staying with family members.
She completed grade six and only three months of grade seven. After that she said she "learned on the job." She worked a variety of jobs mainly in Edmonton and Winnipeg, including factory work processing food for the war effort and being a chambermaid at the Banff Springs Hotel.
Lorraine married Reg Campbell February 6th 1956 in Edmonton. There they had two children, Susan and John. From there, they moved to Lingan, Cape Breton, N.S. where Karen, Lurana and Arthur were born. Reg found work in Wyoming, U.S.A. on a road construction crew. The family followed the work, living in a mobile home and crisscrossing the state living in eight different towns. Their youngest daughter, Bonnie, was born in Lander, Wyo.
The Campbell's arrived back in Canada in 1972, settling in Lac la Hache. With the station wagon bearing Wyoming plates, the locals thought their new neighbors were Americans. It was a pleasant surprise to find out the family was from Cape Breton and Alberta, just like most of the town. All of Lorraine and Reg's children graduated from Peter Skene Ogden Senior Secondary, an accomplishment that made her very proud. One great sorrow in her life was losing her son, John, in a glider crash the summer he graduated from high school.
Lorraine had several jobs in Lac la Hache, mainly as a short-order cook and baker. She won many awards at the annual 100 Mile House Fall Fair for her home-made bread and tasty treats. She volunteered extensively in the community - the Catholic Women's League, the Lac la Hache Winter Carnival, the Lac la Hache O.A.P.O.
Lorraine lost the love of her life, Reg, in 1992. She moved to 100 Mile House a few years later and continued to volunteer in the community, mainly at Millsite, Fischer Place, and the Creekside O.A.P.O. Lorraine moved into Carefree Manor in 2015 after she had recovered from a mild stroke. She suffered a few health issues in her final years and was a breast cancer survivor at the age of 87.
Lorraine enjoyed life. Her family was her first priority and she took pride in being a homemaker where she baked everything from scratch. She loved to watch her children succeed at school and never missed a Christmas concert or sports day. She enjoyed taking in all the local festivals and learned how to ice fish. She would catch her limit of Kokanee and then smoked or canned it to share.
Lorraine is survived by her children: Susan, Karen (Jerry), Lurana (Ron), Arthur (Janet) and Bonnie (Peter); grandchildren: Lisa (Brandon), Jenna (Dylan), and their father Lorne, Madison, Tiffany (Tony), Tricia, Melissa (Brody), John (Dakota), Brandon and Darcy; great-grandchildren: Bella, Jacob, Nathan, Odyn, Gideon, Emersyn and Ava. She is dearly missed by many nieces and nephews, relatives and friends.
A funeral mass will be held at St. Jude's Church, Horse Lake Road, 100 Mile House, B.C. on Saturday, July 6, at 11 followed by lunch. The graveside service will take place in the days to follow.
A prayer vigil will take place at the church on Friday, July 5, at 7 p.m.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Lorraine's name to either the Lac la Hache O.A.P.O. or Millsite, Fischer Place Auxiliary.