Donna Mae Reid

Passed on: June 22nd, 2013

We regret to announce the passing of our mother Margaret Jean Cleaveley (nee Lyons) on June 22, 2013.

Predeceased by husband Bert and survived by sons Drew (Sherrey), Chris (Mary Fus) and Rob (Myrna). She leaves four beloved grandchildren Aaron (Leanne), Jennifer, Megan, and Geoffrey; and two adored great-grandchildren Kelsey and Kirsten.

Mom was born in Vancouver and was very active in softball, basketball and track and obtained all her summer employment playing for various city softball teams. She attended King Edward High School, then Normal School, and commenced teaching at the Forks School, Barriere in 1946. She and Bert married in 1948 and subsequently moved to the farm north of Little Fort where the boys were raised. Always interested in learning and teaching, she was involved in School Board affairs for 11 years. She was also active in what was then known as the North Thompson Board of Trade and persuaded them to adopt what was to become Dutch Lake Centennial Park.

Mom left the valley in 1963 to live in Calgary. She started university in 1969 and while a student spent most of her summers working in Lac La Biche where she and the boys had lived earlier. She earned a B. Ed. and a M. Sc. from, and worked briefly at, the University of Calgary before moving to Slave Lake, to serve the provincially run Adult Education Centres in northern Alberta. She traveled the north-west quarter of Alberta by car, truck or plane and always regretted leaving her pilot's license unfinished. She was well-known on many Reserves, particularly Janvier, and in the Metis communities.

She returned to B.C. to open the Northern Lights College office in Chetwynd, later serving in Dawson Creek and Fort St. John. She moved to Grande Prairie to become a Dean at Grande Prairie College and enjoyed seven happy years there, until she retired in 1991. She later moved to Chase and spent 6 years on the golf course. After moving into Kamloops in 2004, she was involved in many volunteer activities, with her proudest achievement being involved in the establishment and organization of Kamloops Adult Learners Society, which provides hours of enjoyment for many active seniors in Kamloops.

A Memorial Service will be held on Saturday, July 20, 2013 at 1:00 p.m. at Schoening Funeral Chapel, 513 Seymour Street, Kamloops, B.C., with a tea to follow.