Church, Grace
1925 - 2014
Grace passed away on June the 17th after a long, hard fought battle with cancer. She will be missed by her family and friends. Grace was born, April 10th, 1925, in Spokane, Washington, but returned to the family home in Drumheller soon after. She loved growing up in Drumheller, and in spite of the Great Depression, her stories and memories recalled an idyllic and abundant childhood and adolescence, surrounded by family, friends and neighbours who never needed money to have fun. Her beloved, hard working Mama, known to the family as Granny McArthur, could make a penny work like a dollar. Granny saved those pennies and bought the first radio in North Drum, and on Saturday nights, would move it to the side of the street where everyone gathered to dance and to sing. Donnie, or Doris, as she was called back then, and her cousins and friends would go to the mines to pick up bits of coal to help keep the home fires burning in the winters. They had no understanding of poverty; they were just kids having fun. On April 24th, 1943, two weeks after her 18th birthday, Grace joined the Canadian Womens Army Corps. She was thrilled by her time in the Service and joyed in telling the stories of her time in the army for the rest of her life. She and her sweetheart, Bill Church, an RCAF officer, managed to zig zag their way across the country to share some adventures with each other and were married on October 30th, 1943. Bill was 19 years old. Grace, still 18. As the old photos remind us, they were both very young, both very beautiful in the uniforms they wore with such pride. When the war ended, Grace and Bill settled onto Bill’s family farm, close to his parents and beloved brother, Harry. Though they lived in the infamous shack, where the snow blew into small drifts on the kitchen floor, “where the mice ran in and the mice ran out because of the cold”, there was no end to the fun, no end to the great times with neighbours, friends and family. The farm years were a delight to Grace. Her humble home was a gathering place. No matter who dropped in, she was glad to welcome them. She would throw a few more potatoes into the pot, whip up four dozen buns, as a roast was cooking, and there was always a wonderful meal to be shared. Grace loved her new found family. Alice and Allen Church, and her dearly loved, brother-in law, Harry and later, Harry’s wife, Virginia, were vitally important to her. As the babies were born into this loving and extended family, they were surrounded by the love of the whole clan, not to mention a horde of neighbours, and their babies, and the other vibrant loves of the farm. Litters of baby piglets, warmed in the oven on cold winter nights, dogs and cats, rabbits, chickens, cattle who seemed to be always breaking out of fences. Grace embraced it all with a lot of love and a wonderful sense of humour. She loved her children and her nieces and nephews, her neighbours’ children, loved “that whole mess of kids” and was glad of everyone. There were losses and heartaches. Two babies, Barry, and Sandra were lost to the family, and are grieved to this day. Grace was finally able to rest, knowing that she would be with those babies, and much of that wonderful family, once again. Grace lived in Carbon for many years, with her dear friend Howard Smith. Later, she moved to the Golden Hills Lodge in Three Hills, and lived happily there for many wonderful years, in the loving embrace of friends and staff. Howard was with her every step of the way in the journey of aging, as was his family and hers. As Grace’s health declined, she was flown out on a private jet to Port Alberni, BC. She lived well and happy at Rainbow Gardens, a miraculous and loving home, close to her daughter’s home there, and was visited often by her beloved sons, grandchildren, and great grandchildren, who made frequent trips to be with her. She made many friends, in Port Alberni, as she always has done, and we all mourn her loss.
