Charlene Sharples

July 2, 1956 – February 7, 2024

It is with extreme heavy hearts and great sadness that we, the family, announce the passing of our beloved sister, aunt and great aunt, Charlene Amelia Ethel Sharples, fondly known as Char or Charnie.

Charlene was born on July 2, 1956 in Kenora. She was predeceased by her parents, Edna and Charles Sharples as well as many aunts and uncles from the Sharples and Cederwall families.

Charlene is survived by her twin brother Todd Sharples (Terri), her sister and best friend Becky Sharples. She is also survived by her nieces and nephews; Cory Turcotte (Desmond), Amanda Sharples (Mike Kraynyk), Cary Sharples (Dana Wallbridge), Chelsea Greig (Alastair), Jackie Marcine (Curtis) and Jamie Doucette (Becky). She also leaves to mourn great nieces and nephews; Mackenzie Turcotte (Curran McLeod), Alysa Turcotte (Jeff Trudeau), Lucas Doucette, Brody Doucette, Jack Doucette, Harrison Greig and Ryker Sharples. All the nieces will miss their Auntie Charnie calling or messaging them and referring to them as “Hey Big Girl”.

Charlene also leaves behind her special fur baby, her cocker spaniel, Sandy. Sandy loved to make visits to see Charlene at Pinecrest and was always extremely excited to see her. In addition to her immediate family, she also leaves behind many, many cousins whom she loved dearly, and as well she leaves behind some very special and close friends, Emily Taylor-Derouard and Valerie Edison.

Charlene was raised in Pellatt Township, first on the Cederwall farm and then the family moved a short distance to a farm on Muriel Lake. She often referred to our childhood as “idyllic”. We have many, many wonderful memories growing up on the farm. The Cederwall farm was a gathering place for family and time was spent picking blueberries, camping, fishing and many Sunday road trips down the Minaki highway. A favourite and special place near and dear to Charlene was Trout Lake where many hours were spent swimming and picnicking with family. Swimming was her summer passion and many hours were spent at Gordon’s Beach in Keewatin where she would take her black lab Teca periodically throughout hot summer days. Before moving back to Muriel Lake, Charlene spent most of her adult years in Keewatin. One of her favourite sayings was “There are those people that live in Keewatin and those who want to”. She loved her community, her neighbours and made many wonderful memories during her time there.

Charlene worked as a housekeeper at the Lake of the Woods District Hospital around 1974/75 and eventually took her nursing course and spent many years working on 2nd East at Lake of the Woods District Hospital. She took much pride in her work on 2nd East and made many wonderful friends during her career, not only with staff but patients as well. Charlene had to make the hard decision to retire early due to illness but kept in touch with many of her co-workers. Charlene suffered a number of illnesses which made life more difficult for her, but her positive attitude and strength carried her through. Even though she struggled, she always said “there are others that have it worse than me.”

Another one of Charlene’s favourite summer activities was attending the Winnipeg Folk Festival, which she did for twenty plus years. She also began attending the Trout Forest Festival held in Ear Falls. Charlene was a book of knowledge when it came to music. If you had a question regarding a musician or music, Charlene always had the answer. Charlene was also an avid gardener and when healthy, spent hours in her yard planting flowers or cutting her lawn. One of her favourite flowers was the lily.

Charlene enjoyed making the short trek to the Sioux Narrows Art Festival before her illness took over. She would bring her two youngest great nieces and they would spend a great day shopping, swimming and just having fun.

When our parents were alive and well, Charlene spent many, many weekends with them at the camp on Big Sand Lake. Often on these weekends one or more of the nieces or nephews would go along and enjoyed special time with Charnie and our parents.

Charlene absolutely loved the excursions she and Becky would make to Steinbach Manitoba. While there they would spend hours looking at knick knacks at the thrift shops, enjoying this time away from all their worries. She loved picking up special treats for her family wherever she went. She loved to shop on-line from Lee Valley Tools where she would find treasures that she thought would be appropriate gifts or treats for others.

Another pastime we will always remember her for was her love of baking. If she was invited to a potluck or dinner, she would always offer to bring dessert (which was devoured by whomever was there to enjoy.) Charlene was known for her love of family and friends. She was also known for her teasing and fun loving nature and genuine care and concern for others. One had to be on their toes on April 1st as she loved nothing better than calling and pulling an April Fool’s joke or prank on whomever she could.

Our family wants to extend a huge THANK YOU to many many people. To Mike Limerick, nurse practitioner at Pinecrest Home for the Aged; you made Charlene’s stay at the home so much easier with your shared interests and laughter. The Nursing staff, Activation staff, Housekeeping, Maintenance, Social worker, Hairdresser, Laundry, Unit 2 residents; her stay at Pinecrest would not have been as comfortable for her if it were not for all involved. Thank you to Dr. Shannon Wiebe for the special care you gave to Charlene for so many years; she thought very highly of you. Thank you to the staff at the Lake of the Woods District Hospital for all the care and friendship that was given to Charlene during her numerous stays over the past number of years. Much love to cousin Trudy Cederwall and close family friend Emily Taylor-Derouard for all of their support during Charlene’s last days. The love and caring you showed to not only Charlene, but also our immediate family will forever be remembered. We would also like to thank everyone for their thoughtfulness and caring, providing coffee, food and treats during Charlene's final days at Pinecrest Home for the Aged.

in lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to PUFF Community Hall.

Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, March 30, 2024 at 1:00pm at PUFF Firehall in Lac Lu, Ontario.