Ada Stilling

Ada was born with a strong will, a helpful nature and a natural desire to come alongside anyone (or any critter, plant, or insect) that appeared to need a helping hand. Born to Ken and Vi Sparrow during the depression and the eldest of 7, she quickly gravitated into the role of caregiver; looking after younger siblings, sewing clothes, and helping with chores and meal prep for their very large household – one that welcomed anyone needing a place to stay along with dozens of boarders who were fortunate enough to live there while attending university.

Always popular at school, Ada attended the gifted program in grades 6, 7 and 8 and then took high school by storm as class vice president in her grade 9 class. Ada was part of City Park’s choir all four years, and according to the yearbook, she was “a whiz at basketball and on the dance floor”, as well as being “full of sparkle and always fun to have around”. No wonder they chose her as their Senior Pin. Her grade 12 aptitude test said she should be a nurse or a mechanic, but when she won the bursary to teachers’ college, her career was set and by 1954 she was pouring herself into the role of kindergarten teacher at Wilson School. Ada would go on to brighten many primary classrooms in Saskatoon (Caswell, Mayfair, Churchill and Howard Coad), while continuing to take the necessary classes to comply with her Normal school graduation.

In Normal school Ada found herself on the cheer team and on student council. It was there she met a fellow classmate named Bud and just as he predicted the first day he saw her, they became husband and wife a short time after. They were married the summer of 1957 and had their first baby girl – little Mo – the very next year. Later, when little sisters Chy and Pamela came along, Ada embraced a lively stint as mother and homemaker; sewing matching outfits, building shelves, creating forts, caring for strays, camping out to the coast and back each summer and preparing entire Thanksgiving dinners from her own garden.

When you consider the many other commitments she had alongside her busy household – church, choir, bowling league, CGIT, volunteering for various charities, season tickets to the Symphony, more classes, and endless evenings helping Bud with his ‘lines’ - you can see why we called her our Energizer Bunny.

However, even with all these other activities filling her life, in 1974, Ada once again found herself in front of a classroom of innocent faces. This time at River Heights, and she stayed there a full 20 years before retiring in 1994. Mom genuinely loved her students, and they loved her. Sometimes, they were extra lucky as they would finish up in the spring only to discover that their beloved teacher would also be moving up a grade . . . and in the fall, they’d be in Mrs. Stilling’s classroom again! And who wouldn’t want to be in that classroom overflowing with projects, hugs, critters and creativity. Whether it was hamsters, rabbits, gerbils, a stray dog, or an enormous turtle, (do you remember Yertle?), there were always classroom pets woven into her hands on teaching style.

When Mom and Dad retired, they found themselves dividing their time between Mesa, Saskatoon and the lake at Delaronde, but wherever she found herself, Ada lived life in the moment and always to the full. Mom never tired of trying new things, finding the beauty in a spider, sharing a laugh or just offering a hand where needed; however, all these things were just vehicles for her true passion; meeting new people and looking for ways to make the world a better place. In 2020, when they eventually moved into Riverside Terrace, even Covid couldn’t slow her down as in no time, she had made dozens of friends, jumped into all the activities, and got busy offering her daily jokes and puns on the whiteboard - mask and all.

After her diagnosis, true to form, Mom courageously fought several primary cancers with her typically tenacious grit and her relentless grace. She never lost her sunny disposition and even while in hospice at Glengarda, you’d see she was more concerned about the ones sitting around her bed than about her own discomfort or fears. We believe that in His compassion, God called that fight and closed her eyes for the last time on July 17th. We do have peace, and understand the mercy behind it, but we are still heartbroken and miss her every day.

For a tiny lady, Mom definitely made a big impact and has left a very large hole in many people's hearts.

Ada was predeceased by Bud Stilling (2023), her younger siblings Betty, Bob, Eddie and Don. She is survived by her 3 daughters Mo Koetting (Hans), Chy Liu (Sam) and Pamela Boutin (Yvan), eight grandchildren; Leah, Hannah and Risa; Mandie and Keaton; Renée, Natalie and Jackson, five great grandkids; Ada, David, Beau, Lilah and Roman, as well as her two youngest sisters Kathi and Lori.

The service to celebrate Mom's ever hopeful outlook will be held at Mourning Glory - Acadia McKague’s Chapel, at 2:00 pm on August 30, 2025, 915 Acadia Drive. The service will also be live streamed through the following link: https://www.youtube.com/live/TTUOj84sluI?feature=share

To honour of her battle with cancer, and to celebrate Mom's signature colour, we are asking everyone to join us in wearing something PINK and to perhaps consider a donation to the Canadian Cancer Society or Glengarda Hospice in place of any floral tributes.