Sheelah Dorothy Witham

It is with heavy hearts that we share news of the passing of Sheelah Witham on September 4th, 2026.

Sheelah was born in Montreal in 1957 and enjoyed being the baby in a family of five children, in a close-knit community, with plenty of extended family nearby.

When she was six years old, Sheelah and her family relocated to a small First Nations community, Moose Factory, Ontario where her father, John, set up and ran the laboratory at the TB Sanitorium.

After baby brother George was born, Sheelah was out of sorts briefly but soon took on the role of big sister and protector.

Raised in remote Moose Factory, Sheelah and her siblings developed vivid imaginations, engaging personalities, and made life-long friendships. Sheelah devoted much of her free time to school sports.

For high school, Sheelah was billeted in South Porcupine, (Timmins, Ontario), Ottawa, and Kirkland Lake, all far from her family and she had to navigate life independently, at a time when long distance phone calls were too expensive to be frequent. She used sports as a social “in” and earned her resilience at an early age. Her teenage years away from family were not ideal, but very character forming.

Following high school, Sheelah worked in Moose Factory, transcribing x-ray reports, where her interest in medical imaging was piqued. After fulfilling the urge to travel, including two journeys to Europe, one with her friend Elly, she attended college in Toronto to pursue her career in medical imaging, acquiring even more friendships along the way.

Her first placement as an x-ray technologist brought her to Sioux Lookout Ontario in 1981. She quickly excelled at her job, made more forever friends, and met the love of her life, Brian Carroll. In Sioux Lookout, Sheelah and Brian welcomed their son Jordan, and daughter Megan into the world, and eventually, in 1989, decided to move to a better climate, and larger community.

The Witham-Carrolls thrived in Kamloops, BC., where Sheelah worked at the hospital as a sonographer, including several years as a clinical instructor in her profession. She considered herself to be “a body detective”.

She enjoyed her work and was a vibrant part of the community, volunteering as a Girl Guide Leader, joining in school and community fundraisers, organizing fun events, and always forming new friendships.

She loved her family life, hikes and walks, skiing, golf, softball, volleyball, pickleball, kayaking, biking, camping, travelling as a couple, and with family and friends. She also loved to read and had a steel trap memory that allowed her to recall characters and plots from many different stories.

As much as Sheelah led a very eclectic life, her family and friends were her priority, and she nurtured her relationships with passion, love, and kindness. She cherished her coffee dates, meals and festivities with family and friends, and was always up to date with happenings in their lives.

After retiring, Sheelah and Brian travelled even more, to Europe, the U.S. and for months at a time to Mexico, where Sheelah formed even more friendships. To see her smile was to be drawn in.

In 2018, Sheelah was diagnosed with stage 4 colorectal cancer and was given a prognosis of eight to eighteen months to live. Thanks to her unwavering strength and determination, (she was the Tower of Power), Sheelah was able to rally, live an active life, foster her relationships, and become Gigi (Glorious Goddess) to three beautiful grandchildren who were her pride and joy.

In the past few weeks of her life, Sheelah received multiple messages of gratitude from people she had inspired in life.

Forever positive in life, Sheelah would often say, “If I’m movin’, I’m groovin’.”

We, Sheelah’s family, can only understate what an incredible wife, mother, and Gigi, that Sheelah was, and how fortunate we were, to be in her life.

Sheelah was predeceased by her parents, John and Marjorie Witham, brothers John and Harold, Sister Norah Miner, and numerous other family members and friends. She is survived by her loving husband, Brian, children, Jordan (Roxanne), and Megan (Jay), her grandchildren, Anna, Griffin, and Summer, as well as her brothers Richard (Virginia), and George, her Aunt Barb, and a large beloved extended family.

We are forever grateful for the care provided by Doctors Pwint, Proctor, Ewart, MacDonald, and Sierhagen, and all the nurses and support staff and volunteers, at the Kamloops Cancer Centre, surgeons, Dr. John Just, and J.F. Chevalier of Kamloops, and Dr. Edward Solano, of Kelowna, who extended Sheelah’s life three times.

Special thanks to all of Sheelah’s supportive tribe of family and friends, as well as, Dr. Adamarie Steyn, Dr. Bordeau, the doctors and staff of Ward Five South at RIH, and at the Landsdowne Pain Management Clinic, and of course, the staff and volunteers at Marjorie Willoughby Hospice.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Marjorie Willoughby Hospice, or charity of choice, in her memory.

A Celebration of Life for Sheelah will take place in Kamloops, in the Spring of 2027; time and venue To Be Announced.