Shirlie Irene Caruk

Shirlie Irene Caruk (née. Morrell), was born to Maude and Robert Morrell on Dec 16, 1932 in St John, New Brunswick. She was their oldest child of 13. She started attending the Salvation Army church in her teens.

She and Arnold met at the Salvation Army Jackson’s Point camp on Lake Simcoe in Ontario in the summer of 1953. This was the same year that she entered the Salvation Army Training College. She and Arnold graduated from training college in 1954. Her first appointment was in Regina Northside SK as a single officer. From there she served in Melfort SK (1954) and Hazelton BC (1955).

Shirlie and Arnold married in St John NB August 1956. Their first appointment as a married couple was in Kitselas BC (1956-1957). After that they served in: Hazelton BC (1957-1958); Kitseguecla BC (1958) where they lived in the house of the Indigenous Chief; Gitwinksihlkw (formerly Canyon City BC, 1958); Tisdale SK (1958-1959); Yorkton SK (1959-1962); Botwood NL (1962-1963); Little Bay Islands NL (1963-1964); Dildo NL (1964-1965); Peterborough ON (1965-1968); Saskatoon SK (1968-1970); and lastly, Ottawa ON (1970-1971). In 1971 they retired from the Salvation Army ministerial and moved back to BC to live in Surrey and raise their family.

Initially they managed a Mini Mart in Surrey for 2.5 years. Then they each got separate jobs, and Shirlie worked as a teller at Scotiabank. From there she went on to be the office manager at Big Toys Playground Equipment, and after that for another playground installer. In the mid 1980’s Shirlie started a coffee and muffin kiosk at the Surrey Public Market, which expanded and moved to a storefront in New Westminster near the skytrain station, and opened just in time for Expo ‘86. The coffee shop was called The Wizard of Iz and was a going concern for several years. From there she and a business partner bought into the Bonanza Restaurant franchise. After that experience she hung up her hat as an entrepreneur and restaurateur, and went back to the “quiet” life as an office manager for an electrical engineer.

After retiring in 1998, Shirlie attended the Toastmasters club in Aldergrove. When she and Arnold moved to Harrison, she started the Bigfoot Toastmasters club. Shirlie became the division governor for Toastmasters and achieved the highest award of Distinguished Toastmaster.

Throughout all this time, Shirlie and Arnold laboured diligently as lay leaders in the Salvation Army. Shirlie was a Sunday school teacher and Corps Cadet teacher (Burnaby and Surrey), and Cheer Kettle Co-ordinator in Chilliwack for several years.

For their vacations, Shirlie and Arnold attended Salvation Army congresses around the world, visiting places such as London England (twice), Adelaide Australia, Bermuda, Atlanta Georgia, Israel, and the exotic locations of Vancouver, Winnipeg, and Toronto. During one of the London congress trips, they did an extended tour of Europe. They enjoyed Europe so much that they went back again another time visiting several places including the Romantic Road of Germany, Prague, Brataslava, Vienna, and Budapest. Shirlie and Arnold always vacationed together, but much to the chagrin of their children, never took them overseas!

Shirlie was the trip planner. She researched every detail and wanted to make the most of every trip. In later years, Gordon, their eldest son, went with Shirlie and Arnold to Turkey. Their last big trip was a Panama Cruise with Gordon. Shirlie’s last trip was a road trip to Saskatchewan with Arnold in the autumn of 2017.

In December 2017 Shirlie fell and broke her hip a few days before her 85th birthday. By late February 2018 Shirlie moved into the Glenwood Care Home in Agassiz. She rallied somewhat in 2019, but after a gradual decline, she passed away quite suddenly on the morning of Oct 16, 2021. She is survived by her husband of 65 years, Arnold, and their four adult children: Gordon (Shirley), Sharon (Tom), Stuart (Anita), and Leanne (Brian); six grandchildren: Matthew, Amanda, Beth, Brent, Lucy and Victoria; and three great grandchildren: Andrew, Arielle, and Rosalyn. She was known by many titles: daughter, sister, wife, mother, aunt, grandma or Baba, and great grandma.

But most importantly, Shirlie was a woman after God’s own heart. She will be missed for her wisdom, knowledge, sense of humour, kindness, and gentleness, as well as her many talents including teaching, writing, public speaking, sewing, cooking, and baking. Our loss is Heaven’s gain!

A Memorial Service in her honor will be held at the The Salvation Army, 46420 Brooks Avenue, Chilliwack, BC on October30, 2021 at 1:00 pm. There will opportunities to watch the service through the Salvation Army website.

https://chilliwacksa.ca/

Any donations in her memory can be made to the Salvation Army, Christmas Cheer fund in Chilliwack.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.hendersonsfunerals.com for the Caruk family.