Doreen Frances Beer

Welcome and thank you for coming. We are here today to celebrate the life of Doreen Beer, our beloved mom, whose grace and kindness showed thru in everything she did and with everyone she met, for every one of her amazing 89 years.

We are Doreen’s daughters, Sandy and Kim, oldest and youngest of her kids!

We are grateful to those who travelled long distances to get here, as well as those who have joined us online as we honour Doreen.

Doreen Frances Angel was born February 26, 1933 in Winnipeg. She was born a first generation Canadian to Johann and Daisy who immigrated from Denmark and England. Born the second of four children, she was the oldest daughter. Her siblings were Johnny, Catherine and Freda.

Doreen grew up by her father’s side and worked along side him in his family-owned service station and garage on the corner St. Anne’s Rd. and Sadler Ave. She learned to drive the tow truck as young as 10 or 12 years old! She would drive around the property, learning all she needed to know. As soon as she was old enough, 16 we think, her dad took her to the St. Vital Police Station, where the officer had mom drive around the streets of St. Vital, and her licence was granted, just like that. No graduated licencing program in 1949!

KIM

So soon after Doreen got her drivers’ licence, a tragic event happened in Winnipeg. The 1950 flooding of the Red River. As we here in BC have recently experienced, you can imagine the destruction that can cause. Doreen and her family did as much as they could to help the efforts, and because of the location of their garage, they were able to take in stray dogs that had been abandoned when people were forced to evacuate their homes. At the height of the flood, mom and her siblings cared for 17 dogs! Once the flood waters subsided, the dogs magically went back to their homes. I truly believe that was the start of mom’s volunteer work!

Doreen married in 1957 and had five children over the next 15 years. Sandy, Barry, Glenn, Marv and then much, much later, and to my sister’s delight, me! Sadly, we lost our brother, Barry to cancer about 2 years ago. We are grateful knowing that Barry and Mom are together again! Doreen’s immediate family includes nine grandchildren and three great grandchildren! There are so many other wonderful people that Doreen calls family – brothers and sisters-in-law, cousins, nieces and nephews. Doreen loved her family, and her family loved her. Doreen lived in a few places in Canada over the years including Winnipeg, Montreal, Blind Bay on Shuswap Lake, and Kamloops.

SANDY

For as long as I can remember, mom has been involved in the Lutheran church. From Sunday School teacher to church treasurer, to member of the Alter Guild, Caring and Sharing, and many other groups and committees. She also provided her vast knowledge of gardening to help enhance the gardens around this beautiful church! Possibly the most notable of her contributions to Hills of Peace Lutheran was her creation of the Mitten Tree. It’s a tree, similar to a Christmas tree, decorated with donations of hats, mitts, gloves and scarves. Just before Christmas each year, mom would collect all the donations from the mitten tree, take them home, and sort them according to age and gender. She would then contact the Ministry of Children and Family Development and deliver them to local offices for distribution. This past Christmas, we learned that the tree had been renamed to “Doreen’s Mitten Tree”. What a special way to honour our mom!

Our mom. Growing up with Doreen as our mom was something special. As children, and mostly as teenagers, we didn’t always think so, but we quickly learned the real truth! Everything that Doreen ever did for her family, she did with love. Mom was always home when we got back from school, she was always ready to fix what ailed us, and she was there when we needed her, no matter what. She always took the time to bake all our birthday cakes, with coins inside every year! And these weren’t your typical cakes, we’re talking about trains, dinosaurs, and giraffe’s. That’s a lot of cakes! She made all of our Halloween

costumes, I remember the witch costume the most, and she made most of our clothes! Mealtime was no different. Every meal was prepared with love… no Hello Fresh or take out meals for Doreen’s family! Now, every meal may have been prepared with love, but some of them, we as kids could have done without! Liver and Onions, Steak and Kidney pie, just to name a couple! I remember eating the steak and giving the “kidney” to our dog, Tammy. And meals were always served with milk. and no worries if we ran out just before dinner time. Many times, we were told to mix up another batch of powered milk! And always with warm water to dissolve the milk crystals more easily!

KIM

A huge part of growing up with our mom was summers at Whiteshell Provincial Park, about 2 hours East of Winnipeg. Doreen has been taking her kids to Whiteshell since Sandy was a baby! And for the most part, Doreen spent full summers at the lake with her kids, with a trip home in the middle somewhere to get laundry done and to restock on groceries. And we always got the same spot every year. Thanks, mom, for going out in the spring to secure our favourite campsite! No such thing as online reservation systems back then!! As our family grew, so did our accommodations for camping, starting with a pup tent, we then moved to bigger tent with a kitchenette area. When we got fed up with the skunks around the tent, or so I’m told, we upgraded to a travel

trailer! When necessary, we upgraded again to the bigger trailer. Not big by today’s standards, but it was deluxe to us!! Our summers were filled with fun; fishing for pickerel, picking blueberries, and playing pranks on each other, mostly it was the boys pranking Sandy! We also did all our swimming lessons at the lake! I remember having to watch the trees while doing the back stroke to keep a straight line along the shore! And the leaches! Oh… the leaches! Mom was always ready with the saltshaker to get rid of those darn leaches! Thanks Mom! But I think our biggest summer memory, was mom’s version of sunscreen! But that was no sunscreen. Mom was a big proponent of using baby oil on our skin, and then sending us back out to play in the sun… Live and learn, right?

So, fast forward a few years… mom started a new life in Kamloops… she had raised her kids, and they had almost all moved out! She moved into a brand-new townhouse in Parksyde Place, on Westsyde Road in Kamloops. That was 1995. She busied herself with new groups and volunteer activities, and in between all her regular volunteering, mom continued to research her mother’s side of her family. Her research had begun when she met a couple from England on the train while travelling from Montreal to BC in 1988. At the time, she only knew that her mother was from England. She had a UK phone number that she gave to this couple. When they were back in England, they called and spoke to Mom’s Aunt Annie. Aunt Annie then wrote to mom, a letter that I recently found in mom’s things, and thru multiple correspondence over the next 12 years, mom discovered countless

relatives! If we could put a number on it, we would have to guess well over one hundred people. This included grandparents, great-grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews! In 2001, Doreen went to England, on her own, and met many of these wonderful family members, many of whom we still keep in contact with today! I have “caught the bug” so-to-speak and have taken up the family tree, or tried to, where mom left off! I just hope that one day, one of my boys will keep it going for me!

SANDY

In between mom’s research and travel to England, she was very involved in gardening around Kamloops! She belonged to the Kamloops Garden Club and Friends of the Garden based out of the university here. As a member of the Kamloops Garden Club, Doreen organized plant sales, garden tours, and potluck meals for its members. For the Friends Of the Garden group, she arranged speakers to speak at monthly meetings. She took on these roles within these groups for years and years and loved every moment of it!

So, we’ve highlighted a few of the bigger volunteer gigs that mom has had of over the years. There were so many other organizations, foundations and groups that Doreen has tirelessly volunteered her time to over the years including Home & School groups, Girl Guides of

Canada, canvassing for foundations such as the kidney, cancer and heart and stroke, ushering at Sagebrush Theatre, just to name a few. Mom was also an active member of the Women’s Institute.

She lived her whole Kamloops life in that Parksyde place townhouse, and by the time she moved out last summer, she was the only original owner left, and was awarded a certificate of extraordinary membership of Strata Community. She moved into Chartwell Ridgepointe retirement home, where she met a whole new kind of family! She quickly immersed herself with the residents and the activities there. She loved her time there and was loved for being part of that community. Thank you to the staff and residents for welcoming mom into your home.

KIM

As you can see, Doreen was a giver. A giver of time, a giver of her talents, a giver of love from her heart! She was always busy and gave of herself freely and effortlessly. When she started something, she saw it through to completion. You were all a big, special part of mom’s life and we know that she was a special part of yours! Thank you to all of you that sent beautiful flowers, cards, messages, and emails. It is so wonderful to hear the thoughtful and loving things you said about our mom.

Mom. We miss you. We miss your smile, and your laugh! We miss your visits, your phone calls, and we even miss your computer questions! Thank you for being you. Thank you for your love, your kindness, your generosity! We know that you are now at peace with Barry beside you!

You were born an “Angel”, then you became a Beer. And you are an angel, once again! An angel in heaven.

* * * * * * * * * *

Doreen Frances Beer (nee Angel) passed away peacefully surrounded by family members at the age of 89 years. She is survived by her children Sandy (Joel) Madden of Kamloops, BC; Glenn (Jackie) Beer of Thunder Bay, Ont; Marv (Trena) Beer of Salmon Arm, BC and Kim (Fraser) Cameron of Coquitlam, BC; grandchildren Robin, Kyle, Laura, Jason, Cory, Derek, Travis, Riley and Connor and great grandchildren, Whitney, Chelsea, and Emily. Doreen is also survived by her younger sister Freda of Modesto, CA; her sister-in-law Bernice and niece, Colleen of Winnipeg, Man, as well as many relatives throughout Canada, the US, and England.

She is predeceased by her son Barry, her parents Johann and Daisy Angel, and her siblings Johnny and Catherine.

Born in Winnipeg, Doreen grew up by her father’s side and worked along side him in his family owned service station and garage on St. Anne’s Rd. In school, she loved math, and once she finished high school, she took a comptometer course (accounting) and worked for a number of oil and grain companies based out of Winnipeg.

She married at 24, had 5 children over the next 15 years, and lived in Winnipeg and Montreal. In 1988, she moved to Blind Bay, BC.

She moved to Kamloops in 1994, where she started over and built a wonderful new life for the next 28 years. She immediately took a very active roll in her church, Hills of Peace Lutheran, participating in many aspects of the church including creation of the Mitten Tree over 20 years ago, which collected hats, mitts, and scarves for children in need. She was also very involved with gardening groups including the Kamloops Garden Club, and Friends of the Garden. To occupy her time further, she volunteered with her strata. Doreen always kept herself busy, and did so with a bright smile and a generous heart.

Doreen loved to travel! She travelled to Australia, New Zealand and England, where she met many members of her mother’s family. She has also travelled all across Canada, and to many destinations in the US.

Very late in life, Doreen joined a new “family”. It was the family at Chartwell Ridgepointe retirement home in Kamloops. She quickly immersed herself with the residents and in the activities there. She loved her time there, and was loved for being part of that community. Thank you to the staff and residents for welcoming mom into your home.

Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, June 11 at 2pm at Hills of Peace Lutheran Church in Kamloops. For information about live streaming, please contact [email protected].

Doreen’s family would like to extend deepest thanks and gratitude to the many nurses, support staff, and doctors at the Royal Inland Hospital, as well as to her family doctor, Dr. Luciu. Words cannot express how much your kindness and dedication to your work is most appreciated!

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Doreen’s name to Hills of Peace Lutheran Church.

"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." 2 Timothy 4:7