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This was the day of the celebrations. The program mom prepared looked like
this.
Starts at 1:00
Conducting Alex Leavitt
Opening Prayer Sarah Taylor
Eulogy Ben
Leavitt
Musical Number Amazing Grace
Kira
Palmer Oboe
Brandon
Leavitt Violin
Tribute Zachary
Hodder
Tribute Iris
Archibald
Musical Number I Often Go Walking
Great
Grandchildren
Accompanied
by Serene Leavitt
Closing
Prayer Justin
Palmer
Slide
Show
Food Truck starts serving at 1:30
As you can see from the program, Ben delivered a eulogy. Mom wrote it and Ben tweaked it a bit to better fit him but what mom wrote is basically what Ben said. This is what Mom wrote.
My Grandma, Donna Grayce Kesler Shaw
was born on April 18th, 1939, in Edson, Alberta. She was the 3rd of 4 children
born to Alvin & Alice Kesler and the only child not born in Lethbridge.
Her parents were homesteading on
some land in MacKay, not far from Edson at the time of her birth. Family
folklore has it that she was a twin and the twin died at childbirth. By around
the age of 2 years old, her family had moved back to Lethbridge to help on the
Kesler homestead.
Grandma grew up with a lot of aunts,
uncles, and cousins on both her Kesler and Logan side. She had the opportunity
to live with her Grandma Logan while her dad built a home. She had fond
memories of that time.
As a child Grandma loved to play
school with her older sister Lenora and she was reading at the age of 4 years
old. Auntie Lenora would tell you it was because she was a good teacher,
Grandma would tell you it was because Auntie Lenora was a strict teacher, and
she didn’t want to get the strap. Thanks to her sister, Grandma’s love for reading
carried on throughout her life. Grandma was always reading a book, usually a trashy
Harlequin Romance. She liked to read those as an adult because they were an easy
read, she could read one in a day, and it was an escape. She also loved doing crossword
puzzles.
This love of reading was a lifeline
for her, when as a young girl she became very ill with scarlet fever and was in
the hospital for several months. She could have no visitors, and her parents
would drop off books and treats for her and wave to her through the hospital windows
(sounds a lot like Covid!). Sadly, her scarlet fever affected her heart the
rest of her life.
As a youth, Grandma was involved
with different youth groups; church, CGIT – Canadian Girls in Training, and in
high school she was the president of the Junior Red Cross Club.
While in high school, Grandma
started working summers for the Parks & Recreation Department of the City
of Lethbridge. The first two summers she worked as a playground director. A
year after her high school graduation and for the following two summers, she
served as the playground supervisor over 20 playground directors and 11 playgrounds.
As the supervisor she taught 3-day courses where she trained the playground
directors. In her role as the playground supervisor, she organized crafts, scavenger
hunts, swimming, skits, dances, wiener roasts, sports events and competitions
between playgrounds, pet parades, floats, and she wrote a weekly article for the
newspaper regarding the playgrounds. She finished each article with “Play is
our Business.” In one article she talked about an upcoming tour of the Pepsi
plant. I bet she LOVED that tour!!
In the upcoming slideshow you’ll see
Grandma sitting in a big puddle of water. On more than one occasion at family
gatherings Grandma ended up either sitting in a puddle of water, having water
dumped on her head, or having great grandkids, great nieces and nephews squirt
her with water. I think Grandma must have been a magnet for water because in an
article in the Lethbridge Herald it read, “Adams Playground Director Donna
Kesler, getting the surprise of her life from fellow directors as her team took
top honors in the annual inter-playground swim meet held at the Fritz Sick
pool. They picked her up and threw her in the pool, clothes and all.” Grandma
has always been a good sport.
Grandma’s position as a playground
supervisor was quite an undertaking. For example, every year they would hold an
Indian Pow Wow and there would be between 900 – 1000 children attending.
Grandma’s last summer she worked in this capacity was July 1960. On August 30th,
she is quoted in the paper as saying, “Miss Kesler believes playground work is
a ‘golden opportunity’ for anyone who plans on working with children as a
career. At the playgrounds one learns quickly if this is the type of work he
wants.”
Her experience served her well as
she went to university for a career in teaching. Grandma taught elementary
school in Lethbridge and Foremost before she was married. Once she was married,
she moved to Edmonton where she taught one year at an elementary school and one
year at a junior high school.
Once my mom Lisa was born in 1963,
Grandma did not go back to teaching. When she did go back to work, she worked
at the University of Alberta in the library until Auntie Lori was born in 1967.
She eventually went back to work but started a new job at NAIT – Northern
Alberta Institute of Technology in their library. She worked there for a couple
of years before getting a job at the Law Courts Library in Edmonton where she
worked for 38 years.
At the law courts library Grandma
was known for her ability to quickly find statutes and case law for attorneys
and judges. She was also a driving force in organizing special occasions and ensuring
everyone felt welcomed and valued.
Grandma loved animals and they loved
her. She especially loved reminiscing about her childhood scotty dog named
Scotty. As adults, her brother, Uncle Walter, made her a wooden scotty dog that
he painted. It was one of Grandma’s treasures.
Grandma LOVED to travel and learn
about other countries, cultures and customs. She traveled all over the world
and had wonderful experiences and stories that she shared with us. There is a
quote that sums up how Grandma felt about traveling “The world is a book and
those who do not travel read only one page.”
Grandma LOVED making things and
being creative. She was a true crafter. She was a partner in Ideas4Crafts
running craft shows for 25 years. After Grandma and her partners closed the
business, she continued to make crafts and attended craft shows up until Covid.
Grandma was also known for
organizing bus trips to Montana for shopping. She loved planning these trips
and always had fun games and activities to do with those traveling.
Grandma LOVED the Oilers as much as
she loved crafts. She especially enjoyed the years that she was a season ticket
holder and could go to the games. Grandma had a lot of fun teasing and going
back and forth with Jim and Justin – especially Justin because he’s a Flames
fan. Oh, how she would have loved to rub in this year’s Battle of Alberta! If
you passed her house on game night you might have heard her yelling at the referees.
Above all the things mentioned,
Grandma lived for her family. She worked tirelessly as a single mom not only to
provide a home for her girls, but so they could experience travel, and time
with family. And although she was divorced, she made the effort to take her children
to see their grandparents and great grandparents from their dad’s side. Grandma
never drove so this meant long Greyhound bus rides.
Always quick to lend a helping hand
to family, friends and even strangers, Grandma was known for her kind heart and
generous spirit. Her greatest joy were her grandchildren, and especially her
great grandchildren who affectionally call her GG.
As a believer in education, Grandma
was particularly proud that all 9 of her grandchildren completed their
post-secondary studies.
Ben, you can sum it up and end it
here with whatever you feel impressed to end with.
The celebration went flawlessly.
Other than the excellent eulogy, perhaps the highlight of
the celebration was Brandon and Kira’s duet on the oboe and violin. They were
excellent.
It was a good day.
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