We Remember
MORT (née Burden), Marjorie
October 31, 1932 — December 20, 2022
It is with great sadness that we announce the sudden passing of my mother, Marjorie, on Tuesday, December 20, 2022, at the age of 90.
Marjorie was born in Rosetown, Saskatchewan on Halloween, 1932, forever a holiday that recognized her birthday with lots of sweets. She grew up west of Saskatoon on a dairy farm, the eldest of three more siblings to come; Doreen (d 1993), Norman (d 2020) and Alice. Farm life taught her the importance of family, hard work, and organization. She knew her calling was to be a nurse so after high school, travelled to Port Arthur, Ontario where she enrolled and three years later received her nursing diploma in 1955. In 1956 she married Gil(bert) Fussell surrounded by some of her nursing classmates at her wedding. The end of the year saw the birth of a daughter, Judith (Judy) and the following year she lost her husband, a member of the RCAF, in a fatal plane crash.
Marjorie lived in Winnipeg for four years with her sister, Doreen, and then both families moved to Calgary, Alberta. She worked as a Public Health Nurse, switched to teaching nursing students after she completed her Teaching degree in Nursing at U of M., and completed her career as Coordinator of Mental Health in NW Calgary. Later in life she remarried Dale Mort (d 2012) and moved to Kelowna to be near her parents.
Retirement life consisted of golfing many times a week, playing canasta weekly with friends, enjoying visits from grandchildren in the summer, gardening with her green thumb and snow-birding to Arizona for the winter.
After the death of her husband, Dale, she started to deteriorate and was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Dementia is such a terrible disease for both the recipient and their loved ones. With each passing encounter, I watched a little piece of my mother disappear. As ever the mother, she taught me right up to the end when a stroke took her life in minutes, to live in the moment because that was where she was and all she had. She moved from independent living in Sandalwood Retirement Resort, to Chatsworth Retirement Residence to long-term/memory care at the Vineyards Residence. At each step, the medical and support staff provided exemplary care, patience and understanding for her changing needs. The family are so grateful for the work these people do every day for our loved ones.
Marjorie will be remembered by those who loved her, family, and friends alike. She is survived by her daughter Judy (Ron) of Kelowna; her granddaughter Jessica (Sam) of Vancouver; her grandson James of Burnaby; her sister-in-law Josie of Cochrane AB; and by her five nieces: Joyce, Patti, Dawn, Norma and Paula.
A celebration of life will be held in the spring or early summer of 2023. In lieu of flowers, donations to the Alzheimer’s Society, would be gratefully appreciated.
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Judy, I am indeed sad today, but thankful for a lifetime friendship with your Mom as a nursing classmate. She was a remarkable woman, and you have been an outstanding daughter, caring for her so well, right to the end. What a great privilege! My memory bank is full. I know yours is too. So thankful for the blessings of a life well lived. Please know of our love and care in these days..and beyond. Love, Mair and Denny