Mrs. Shirley Louise Collard

On August 21, 1936 Curly and Louise Law welcomed their first child, Shirley Louise, into the world. Shirley was always a country girl at heart, living in various rural Manitoba towns - Souris, Darlingford, Carman and Manitou. She had warm memories of her grandparents’ farm where aunts, uncles and a whole bunch of cousins gathered for special occasions, or just to visit. Having grandparents who emigrated from Dundee, Scotland she was proud of her Scottish roots. Shirley was the oldest of three girls and she loved her sisters deeply. She had many stories to tell about life with her family that included cold winter mornings, cleaning the biffy, workshop on Sundays and being with her father at his locker plant. After graduating high school, Shirley attended Normal School in Winnipeg and soon after became a teacher. She met Warren on the ballfield on a weekend away from her students and was married for over 50 years to her “handsome outfielder”. Together they had two children in the mid- 60’s who fondly remember their childhood as pretty darned great. Shirley and Warren moved to Calgary in the late 60’s where Shirley built on her teaching experience to begin a career in Christian Education at McDougall United Church. She quickly discovered her calling and became a United Church minister, first with the Blackie/Gladys congregations and later filling in for churches across Southern Alberta until she retired at the age of 70. Shirley and Warren remained living in High River for the rest of their lives. Shirley was fortunate to have many friends who were constant companions in her ‘golden years’. Just before she passed away on April 23, 2025, she was recounting her blessed life of a wonderful family and great friends. Shirley’ s immediate family includes her sister Pat (Tony), and their children Roger (Jaime) and Jodi (Ken) and sister Gwen (Barry). Children Danna (Henrik) and Tod (Marilyn) and grandchildren Erik , Brittany, Brooklyn and Jackson were her pride and joys and great grandchildren Gage, Rory, Renley, Kellen , Sloan and Leo were a source of great fun for her. She was Auntie Shirley to many nieces and nephews. Shirley touched many many lives. We will all miss her tremendously. In lieu of flowers memorial donations may be made to Foothills Fetal Alcohol Society - www.foothillsfas.com or etransfer to admin@foothillsfas.com . A Celebration of Shirley's Life will be held on Friday, June 13th at 1:00 p.m. at the Heritage Inn in High River. Caring for the family is Lyle Reeves Funerals of High River (Craig Snodgrass) 403.652.4242.

Tributes

Mrs. Shirley Louise Collard

August 21, 1936 - April 23, 2025