Chapelski, Wendy (nee Wilinski)
January 19, 1946 - May 28, 2012
A guiding light has left us to become a bright star in the heavens. Wendy passed away after a short but courageous battle with ovarian cancer. Wendy was a woman appreciated by so many as a friend, neighbour, daughter, sister, aunt, wife, mother and grandmother who would brighten up a room with her sunny disposition. Wendy contributed to people’s lives through her kindness, generosity and love; she set a wonderful example of how to live life. She gave gentle and unconditional support and made it clear that feeling sorry for yourself was a waste of energy. Without design, she simply lived the principles of the serenity prayer. Wendy was born in Vegreville on January 19, 1946 and married Emil in 1964. After blazing trails in Toronto, Vancouver and Victoria with 3 kids in tow, Wendy and Emil settled in Drumheller to raise their family. Wendy worked for many years as a secretary in the Drumheller Valley School District, including at the junior high school where many of the students would simply call her “Mom”. Later she took great delight in serving for many years as the secretary at the Knox United Church. Wendy and Emil retired to Lloydminster in 2008 where, not surprisingly, they quickly made new dear friends at their condo building and in the community. Wendy was loved deeply by her devoted husband of 48 years, Emil, her two children Shelley (Merle McKenzie) and Mark (Sandra) and the lights of her life - her grandchildren Alex and Emily McKenzie, and Matthew, Nicolas, Anna and Josh Chapelski. Wendy was born to be a Baba. She will also be deeply missed by her dear Aunt Alice, her brother Barry Wilinski and his family, her sister in law (as close as a sister) Emily Samoil and her family. Wendy was sadly predeceased by their youngest child “Scottie” in 1988 when he was 19 and recently by her mother Sophie Edge (both of whom she was excited to see again).Her family would like to express a heartfelt thank you to Dr. Kerlis and the staff at the Jubilee Nursing home for their loving care of Wendy. Instead of flowers, Wendy and her family would be grateful if donations were made to support ovarian cancer research (www.ovariancanada.org ) . A service will be held at 3 pm at Grace United Church on June 16, 2012 in Lloydminster. On July 10, 2012 at 11 am, a graveside service will take place in Drumheller with tea to follow at the Knox United Church.
