Obituary of Sylvia Milne
Sylvia Karolina Milne passed away at Foothills Country Hospice, Okotoks, AB on August 28, 2024 at the age of 84 years.
Sylvia is survived by: her three children, Glenna Cole, Dale (Michelle) Milne and Gayle (Garry) Johnson; six grandchildren, Johnathon Cole, Harley Cole (partner, Kayla Hensel), Ryley Milne (partner, Dvonne Shewchuk), Mikayla Milne (fiancé, Mike Hosseini), Cole Johnson (partner, Ally Sobus) and Landon Johnson (partner, Courtney Fletcher); two great-grandchildren, Tayte Cole and Roan Cole and their mother Renae Cole; sisters, Lil Hamernyk and Carol (Lloyd) Kenney; brother, Mick (Beth) Golinowski; sister-in-law, Donna Golinowski; brother-in-law, Don Sturrock; as well as numerous nieces, nephews and extended family.
Sylvia was predeceased by: her husband, Robert “Bob” Milne; parents, Mike and Karolina Golinowski; sisters, Olga (Jim) Walsh and Angie Sturrock; brothers, Carl (Deana) Golinowski and Frank Golinowski; sister-in-law, Jean Draker; son-in-law, Murray Cole; brother-in-law Bill Hamernyk; and parents-in-law, Robert and Dorothy Milne.
The Vilgil Prayer Service for Sylvia will be conducted from St. Anthony's Roman Catholic Church, Lloydminster, AB on Wednesday, September 4, 2024 at 7:00 PM.
The Mass of Christian Burial will be conducted from St. Anthony's Roman Catholic Church, Lloydminster, AB on Thursday, September 5, 2024 at 10:30 AM. If you are unable to attend, you may view the live streaming of the service which will be posted on McCaw Funeral Service website under Sylvia’s obituary at the time of the service.
In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of Sylvia may be made to donor's charity of choice, Foothills Country Hospice Society (Okotoks, Alberta) or Marwayne Cemetery.
Tribute to Sylvia Karolina Milne
Our beautiful, caring, and considerate Mom was born on the Golinowski farm near Kitscoty, Alberta. Grandma Golinowski was in the barn milking cows one morning and, all at once, she didn’t feel well so she went into the house and gave birth to Mom. That was April 24th, 1940. And from that day forward, Mom was always a person to “get the job done.”
Mom attended Murtle Hill school for her first 6 school years and the last 6 years were spent at Kitscoty school. Uncle Mickey remembers riding the horse with Mom to Murtle Hill and then riding the bus with her to Kitscoty school. Mom was very protective of Mickey and always stepped in when anyone tried to pick on him or take his cap. I understand she also helped the bus driver, Jack Miller, keep “all” the kids in line on the bus. Aunty Carol also remembers riding a horse with both Mom and Uncle Mickey. One time the horse was not cooperating, and Carol was scared stiff. But she also knew Mom, and not the horse, was the one in charge. Mom’s motherly “determined” ways started way before she was an actual mother.
During Mom’s younger years she was up early every morning helping with chores that included cows, pigs, chickens, turkeys, and horses. Mom helped milk 8 or more cows and then hurried to the house to separate the milk. Mom also helped with the grain harvesting, along with Carl and Frank. Frank, however, seemed to always miss out on the “thistle” stokes mom said. She remembered Frank telling Carl and her, “you two can do those ones”.
After graduating from Kitscoty High School, Mom worked at the bank in Lashburn. She lived in Lashburn and took the train back and forth between Lashburn and Kitscoty. Mickey would pick her up and take her back to the train most times, but she did catch a car ride home every now and then.
Mom and Dad got married in June 1961. Between 1962 and 1966 they had three children, Glenna, Dale, and Gayle. This grew into an additional 1 daughter-in-law, 2 sons-in-law, 6 grandchildren, and 2 great grandchildren.
Mom and Dad lived 4 miles from Marwayne, Alberta on the original Milne farm from 1961 to 2007. Mom worked hard both in the house and outside. She always helped with chores – mostly milking the cows and tending to the chickens. She took great pride in her lawn, trees and flowers. She grew a very impressive garden with “way” too many potatoes to weed and hill. Mom always had meals ready daily, and extras for when the Ag salesman would stop by. Morley Dennill’s visits were a bit more irregular, but Roy Lake always seemed to make his calls just before lunch - and was always invited to stay. During harvest Grandma Milne would help with meals. Mom would get them started and then let Grandma take over while Mom went to the field and drove the combine.
When retiring from the farm life in 2007, Mom and Dad moved into Lloydminster. Although Dad had a hard time at first, Mom really enjoyed being in town at this stage in their life. She enjoyed keeping her yard well maintained, and her windows sparkling clean.
Mom was Dad’s caregiver for the better part of 2 ½ years prior to his passing in July 2022. After Dad passed, Mom kept herself busy with her family and friends. Her trip to Comox and Victoria with Glenna and Gayle was an incredible highlight during that time.
On October 11, 2023, Mom had a brain bleed that left her paralyzed on her right side. She spent 1 week in the University of Edmonton hospital and 6 weeks in the Glenrose Rehabilitation Center. Mom worked tirelessly towards walking again. She was determined to succeed. She never did regain the use of her right side, but she built up enough strength to be able to transfer herself to and from her wheelchair. This was a huge accomplishment from where she had begun her post-stroke journey.
From the Glenrose Mom got transferred to the Lloydminster hospital for 3 weeks until we were able to find an assisted living facility in downtown Calgary. While preparing for the move to Calgary, we were able to take Mom to her house. She hadn’t been home since the stroke, 2 ½ months earlier. She was excited to see the work done by the landscaper she had hired, prior to her stroke, to upgrade her south yard. Because the yard work was dusty, she had not cleaned her south windows before her stroke. While in Glenrose hospital, she wanted Gayle to get someone to clean those windows. We kind of “forgot” to get that task completed as we didn’t think it was top priority at the time. When we were able to bring Mom to her home for a few hours, the blinds were down on those south windows. But Mom, with only one working arm and leg, did manage to get her wheelchair over to take a peek under the blinds and saw that the windows hadn’t been cleaned. I am not sure how Gayle handled the rest of that story…
This first move to Calgary was not suitable for Mom’s care needs so then 4 weeks later we moved her to an awesome assisted living apartment in Okotoks, right beside Glenna’s office. The weekend of February 3rdh, 2024, Gayle and Garry were in Okotoks for a visit. The morning of Feb 5th, Mom phoned over to Glenna’s house to say she wasn’t feeling well and didn’t think she would be able to come over to the house to be with us. Upon taking her for a checkup at the Foothills hospital, we received the diagnosis of cancer, literally, throughout her body. Even the doctors were shocked at what they saw. After a couple of weeks in the Calgary Foothills Hospital, we were so happy to be able to move Mom into the most beautiful care at the Foothills Country Hospice just outside of Okotoks. She was so very happy to have had many of her family and friends come to visit her there and see the beautiful place where she lived out the remainder of her life with the most awesome, loving care. Staff routinely came in and asked how she was doing. Even during the last few days, she would give a smile and say “dandy”. The image on the inside of Mom’s funeral card is what Mom got to view from her Hospice window every day. It reminded her so much of the view from our farmhouse dining room table.
Mom was not only our Mom, but everyone’s Mom. She kept in touch with all and was the hub keeping everyone connected.
Mom was also very strong in her Catholic Faith…not only in word but also very much in practice and deed. Mom showed her love in many ways, one of which was regularly dropping off baking to neighbors and friends. Our family reaped the benefits of her delicious cooking and baking and we all eagerly anticipated the arrival of her cheese wraps and rice buns at every holiday.
Mom and Dad were the quintessential parents and grandparents. They were invested in everything that their kids and grandkids were doing and would travel anywhere to be with them and cheer them on. We all knew that they had our backs and that they would support us through anything. They taught us the importance of family and modelled unconditional love and devotion.
Mom and Dad were equally devoted to their friends, neighbors and all who were lucky enough to cross their paths.
We will miss you so very much, Mom, but we celebrate your reunion with your Lord and Saviour along with Dad, and the family and friends who have gone before you. Dance like you have never danced before.
