Tracy Lynn Shaw

It is with great sadness that we share the passing of our beloved wife, mother, grandmother, daughter, sister and auntie Tracy Lynn (Hanson) Shaw, of Prince George, British Columbia who passed away peacefully on Saturday, November 2, 2024, at the age of 62.

Tracy was predeceased by her parents, Glenn & Darlene Hanson, her older brother Terry Hanson, and her daughter-in-law Krystal Patenaude-Caron.

On May 5, 1962, Tracy Lynn Hanson was born as the beloved fifth child of Glenn and Darlene Hanson, and precious baby sister to Terry, Randy, Debbie, and Janie.

As a baby, Tracy had a few health concerns that caused great distress to her family, which made her even more precious. Thankfully, she quickly outgrew those health concerns to become a sweet playmate to her siblings whose number one mandate was to always protect their baby sister.

Whether making tree forts and playing house in the fun woods surrounding their home, playing games in the monkey trees, skating at the neighbourhood rink, playing Kick the Can or Mother Mother May I till dusk, building snowmen or tube sliding down the power-line corridor, fun outdoor activity in Marleau subdivision was the magic of her childhood and always her happy place.

Her siblings protected her from bears while picking blueberries, rope burns from the Tarzan swing on the 2nd Road, and even a near cliff dive off her bike by Randy’s quick thinking and heroic reaction.

She enjoyed extra love and attention from their neighbour and honorary sister Lorraine Christenson which filled her young years with extra fun and adventure.

Her nicknames Tinker (from Tinker Bell) and Pinky (from her love of all things pink) stuck with her throughout her life as family pet names.

Though Tracy was a “girly girl” she loved fishing with her dad and brothers or whoever was heading to the lake. She loved camping and the family pets - Scampy, the sweet little dog they had for a few short years and Pal, the black Labrador they had for many years who added to the outdoor fun.

Tracy attended several schools in the Prince George area as did all children in the area due to the fact there were no schools built in the neighbourhood yet, so they were placed where there was room.

Tracy loved candy and all things sweet and was treated to trips to Bert’s store with all her siblings with her oldest brother Terry as the leader.

She was spoiled by all her siblings and spent a lot of time with Janie and Debbie and their guys in the early years. Janie’s husband Martin became her “Unc” even though he was not her uncle.

Tracy loved music, probably above most all other things (until she discovered a close second - sparkly things). Starting from a very young age, her walls were covered with posters of all the pop idols of the

day, particularly the Bee Gees. She practically brainwashed her nieces and nephews at an early age starting with the very first one Caree, who knew the names of all the Bee Gees before the names of her extended family. Tracy‘s love of music continued throughout her entire lifetime, and you would be hard-pressed to come out the victor against her in a music trivia game (except maybe her brother in-law Dave). She learned to play the guitar from her dad and had the most beautiful singing voice.

Tracy was a kind and gentle soul who was generous to the core and always concerned about the wellbeing of everyone. She had a fierce love for her family, especially her mama, with a heart big enough for all.

Tracy had a strong faith which ultimately led her to meet the love of her life, Mark Shaw, which began a whole new chapter in her life. Our precious baby sister Trac will be forever missed and forever loved by Randy and Joanne, Debbie and Dave, Janie and Martin and families.

Mom was a very generous, kind, and loving person who always put others before herself. Mom was a romantic with a sweet tooth and a fabulously artistic imagination. When Mom wasn’t singing, dancing, volunteering, reading, writing, reminiscing, baking, or crafting all sorts of beautiful things, she was instilling into her four children the values she and Dad felt were important for us kids to live by. Mom was a spiritual person who found peace in the love of Jesus Christ.

Family was very important to Mom. While Dad worked hard outside of the home, Mom worked hard at home to support him. Her four children and her nine grandchildren (Kalika, Kaedance, Cambria, Ava, Sadie, Violet, Naslund, Parker and Sabrina) were her precious “sugar lumps”. Mom often spoke to her siblings and Mother (Bumma) for long periods of time each day, often stressing out Dad due to the large phone bills. Mom was always excited to gather with her children for birthdays, holidays, and other family events.

Mom and Dad loved watching movies together and introduced many films and series to us kids, including Star Wars, Little House on the Prairie, and all things Disney. Mom always put effort into showing interest in her children’s lives. She read the Jurassic Park novel to Matthew when he was too young to read it himself and encouraged Matthew’s artistic endeavours. Mom taught Nick how to tie flies to fly fish and loved spending hours fishing with him at Sowchea Bay on Stuart Lake as well as at Bednesti Lake Resort. Tiffany and Mom enjoyed shopping together as well as watching all sorts of romantic movies and TV series. Tiffany particularly enjoyed assisting Mom when she was caring for and helping others. Layne realized his love of music, especially a lot of the oldies Mom and Dad loved. Mom always appreciated Layne’s skills around the house and would put him to work fixing and building. When Layne’s wife DJ joined our family, Mom welcomed her as a daughter. DJ joined Mom, Tiffany, Krystal, Bumma, and various grandbabies on many outings, including a girl’s trip to West Edmonton Mall. When Matthew’s wife Valeriya joined the family, Mom made her feel like her daughter and enjoyed telling Valeriya stories about our family history.

Mom had a particular love of Christmas, and everyone looked forward to November 1st Christmas decorating. So, Christmas would last a long time at home. Mom was an artistic and stylish person who shared her talents with others and always drew many compliments on her personal style and the lovely decor of her home.

Giving and helping others was always very important to Mom. She spent countless hours and large number of resources helping less fortunate members of the community. Mom impressed upon us children the importance of acceptance of others, friendship, kindness, compassion, and charity. Mom always made the people around her feel special and loved even while she struggled with her health, which would eventually take her.

Mom peacefully passed away surrounded by her husband Mark, her four children and their spouses: Matthew (Valeriya), Nicholas, Tiffany, Layne (DJ), her older brother Randy, and her older sisters Debbie and Janie, and niece Caree in the light of a small Christmas tree with Christmas music gently playing in the background at the Prince George Hospice Palliative Care Society. Our mother will be greatly missed; however, she will always be remembered and live in each of our hearts forever. By Matthew, Nicholas, Tiffany, Layne, DJ, and Valeriya.]

We would like to thank the Prince George Hospice Palliative Care Society for the care and dignity they showed Mom (Tracy) during her final days there, as well as Assman's Funeral Chapel for their compassionate service. There is no funeral by request. In lieu of flowers, please kindly donate to the Prince George Hospice Palliative Care Society or a charity of your choice.