BETTY MAE FIELDER 9 May 1927 – 29 February 2024 On the 9th of May 1927, she “came into the world in the usual way.” Born in the family home on Whitewood Avenue, New Liskeard, she was 1 of 11 children born to Ada (Johnston) and Wesley Shepherdson. Her family moved to and lived most of their earlier years just out of town on a road now known as “Shepherdson Road”. The hospital where she left us is located less than a kilometer from where she was raised. After Betty finished high school, she went to work for George Taylor Hardware, retail store, in the office. When the Second World War ended in Europe, C. Graydon Fielder returned to his job at George Taylor Hardware retail store in December 1945. Betty was working at the store helping her uncle when she saw a young man with a happy smiling face enter and said to her Uncle Fred, “I could go for a guy like that”. He immediately took her over and introduced her to Grayd. They married on September 11, 1946. Their first son Dennis (Lynda) was born in 1948. They had already bought their first home on Lakeshore Road for $3,000. It was a real “fixer-upper”. It had hot water only in the winter months when the wood furnace was hot. Sons, Terry (Darnelly) and Randy (Queta) arrived while the family lived in that tiny home. They moved to their house on Mary Street, just before Kent (Linda) was born. That is where the family lived for most of Betty’s adult life. The three younger children: Rob, Dwight and Jaylyn rounded out the family. Betty was a full-time mother. She worked outside of the home as much as she could in the early years until little children filled her life. In those early years, Grayd left salaried employment and started his own hardware store. The family lived a year and a half with only Betty’s meager income to help Grayd build up his business. At the same time, Betty was active in the Rebekah Lodge and then helped start the local Lioness Club. She played Bridge and hosted the local Women’s Bridge Club. But, as her family grew, she left those clubs. She became a leader in the local Skylark’s girls’ group at her church and later joined the Group Committee for Scouts Canada at the church. She then became a Beaver Leader for 5–7-year-old boys, known to them as “Snowflake”. Betty and Grayd began travelling in the early 1960’s and did not stop. They travelled all over North and South America, the Caribbean, Europe and Africa on tours and cruises. After Grayd passed away, she went on a cruise to Australia and the South Sea Islands. She returned to Africa for a safari with good friend Gordon Carter. With all the travel, they did not take the kids, but we sure got the “T-shirts”! Betty loved her gardens and had large flower gardens and a vegetable garden on Mary Street. She was featured on the 2008 Art Gallery Garden Tour. Mostly she just loved to garden but it was hard because the cottage on Fairy Lake called her…and she had gardens there as well. The cottage was her favourite place on earth. She would pack the car on the last day of school so as soon as the children got home, she loaded them into it and off they went to the cottage, returning to town on the Labour Day Monday so the kids could go back to school. Almost every Sunday afternoon all year round, after church, Betty and Grayd took the family out to the cottage to hike, shovel the snow off the roof, cross-country ski, birdwatch or just catch some rays. When Grayd retired, they bought winter residence in North Fort Myers, Florida where they hosted friends and family for many years. Now Betty could garden year-round. While in Florida, she joined ‘The Pretenders’, a group of entertainers. Betty’s act would be to mime out actions to humorous songs. Their group would perform in their park and then often be invited to neighbouring parks to ‘take the show on the road’. Betty was a lifetime member of the Community of Christ Church in New Liskeard. She attended church conferences in the United States and family church camps in Ontario. She often performed skits and gags that kept everyone laughing. Everyone knew they could rely on her to come out with some unexpected gag. Betty loved to knit, sew, and make crafts. She spent thousands of hours making things and selling them at craft and church events. All the money she made was donated to World Accord to help fund community development projects in poor countries and war zones all around the world. One year she travelled with son Terry and his wife Sandra to Honduras to see what her years of efforts was doing to help poor communities help themselves. All the knitting for crafts sales did not stop her from knitting many sweaters for her children and grandchildren, and even great grandchildren. Her last batch of sweaters went off to her latest great granddaughter only a few days after she returned to her creator God. Betty’s sunset years were spent at Northdale Manor where she had many friends. She loved life there crafting, playing bingo, watching live entertainment and other special events. Her last living siblings Donna and Clair visited her at Temiskaming Hospital near her final hours. Betty loved hymns and selected nine of her favourites, requesting that the family sing them for her when she went into palliative care. Using the internet, the family joined in from Texas, Nevada, Alberta and Ontario. Terry, Kent and Linda were in the room with her. For an hour that turned out to be her last, we sang together for her. Moments after the last hymn, she slipped away. She may have left us here quietly, but rest assured, it is not quiet among the loved ones she met up with on the other side. Her infectious laugh, her jokes and skits will bring joy there as well. Her wit and sense of humour will carry on because that was her, the “her” we will miss until it’s our turn to join her in that Kingdom. She came to the world in the usual way. She spent her life for family, friends, and many she never met, to make life more of a joy. She turned the usual into the extraordinary. She decorated crafts with colour to brighten life for others. She hands off the task to all of us to live life and to make it better than just the usual for the community in which you live. Peace! Betty was predeceased by her husband Grayd, sons Dennis, Randy and daughter-in-law Sandra. She is survived by sons Terry (Darnelly), Kent (Linda), Rob, Dwight and daughter Jaylyn. She is also survived by daughters-in-law, Lynda (Dennis) and Queta (Randy), 24 Grandchildren and 26 Great Grandchildren. Betty was the fifth member of her siblings, Eldon (Dode), Audrey (Thomas Ridley), Kenneth (Marie), Ray, Verdun (Lillian), Morley (Frances), Clair (Joan), Charlene (Bogdon Kocia), Floyd (Carol) and Donna (Charles Caldwell). There will be a Celebration of Life at the Community of Christ, Niven Street, New Liskeard on March 30th at 2:00 pm. In lieu of flowers, donations to World Accord, Camp Noronto or a charity of your choice would be greatly appreciated. Comments are closed.
|
Categories
All
Archives
April 2024
|
Quick links
|
External links
|
community of christ355 Elmira Road North, Unit 129
Guelph, ON N1K 1S5 Canada Canada West Mission: 877-411-2632 Canada East Mission: 888-411-7537 |
Site powered by Weebly. Managed by Community of Christ
|