GOURLEY (RYLEY), Edith Suzanne - August 9, 1925 - July 30, 2023
Edie, Mrs. Gourley, Mom, Gram
A Complete Life Well Lived
Born Aug 9, 1925 in Grande Prairie, Ab and raised on the farm nearby in Clairmont. She was her father’s daughter. Wise, Gentle, Calm, Patient and Intelligent. Always interested in and watching the world and people around her. Always available to help wherever she could.
The “Depression” and WW2 shaped her early life but did not affect her goal of becoming a nurse. She graduated from Royal Alexandra Hospital School of Nursing in Edmonton in 1947. Her first purchase with early savings was a piano.
Plans for a future of nursing, travel and adventure took a detour when she met and married returned RCAF Airman George Gourley in 1948.
Family soon followed with daughter Zellah (1950), son Bob (1952), Daughter Bev (1954) and afterthought Bernice (1960).
The family left Edmonton in 1957 and spent 10 years in Grande Prairie before settling in Jasper in 1967. Mom kept up with nursing through the years, finally retiring as Public Health Nurse to Jasper in 1987.
She never lost her sense of adventure and was able to travel Canada coast to coast to coast, and the world - touching all continents except Antarctica.
The hiking and skiing trails, the ski hill and the curling rink provided additional fun and adventure with her wide group of friends. A passion for history was rejuvenated in retirement and fulfilled through many hours volunteering at the Jasper Museum and Archives.
Mom touched many lives and leaves behind a legacy of recovered patients, healthy babies, vaccinated children and her retirement project, the family history book “Jasper Reflections” published in 1996.
Predeceased by daughter Zellah in 1988 and husband George in 1994.
Survived by Bob (Carol), Bev (Larry), Bernice (Frank); grandchildren, Bobby, Ali, Curran, Megan, Liam; great-grandchildren Beckett, Zellah, Shea, Violet; big sister Louise and many nieces and nephews and families.
Mom passed in comfort at Overlander Residential Care Home in Kamloops on July 30, 2023.
Our thanks to the capable and caring staff there
Donations in memoriam to:
Jasper Yellowhead Historical Society.
PO Box 42
Jasper Ab. T0E 1E0
or
[email protected]
No Memorial is Planned.
Peace.
