Louise Starr

She was born in 1925 in Calgary, AB, to William and Annie Milner. Louise, the ninth child of ten, was predeceased by her brothers George, Frank, Lloyd, Norman, and Eric, her sisters, Alice, Isabelle, Edna, and Shirley, and by her loving husbands, Charles Starr and later Marcel Houle.

Louise was an exceptional caregiver: raising her son as a single mother; tending to her aging parents, who lived with her for many years; caring for her husbands when they struggled with illness; and herding her many grandchildren. Regardless of her family obligations, Louise helped the communities she lived in: being a volunteer Kindergarten and Sunday school teacher are two examples. She also passed on her love of cooking to young adults at the YMCA.

She reveled in organizing large gatherings, especially at Christmas, which brought families and friends together. Outside of spending time with loved ones, Louise fished, especially at Medicine Lake, camped along the Eastern Slopes, wintered in Arizona with her husband Marcel, and tended to either her own or her son’s garden. She also loved playing games: remaining sharp at Chinese checkers and cribbage into her nineties, and always on the lookout for fresh victims.

Louise will be lovingly remembered and greatly missed by her son Gord, her stepchildren, Bob, Alannah, Gaetan, Dianne, Michel, Lucie, and Kasandra, her grandchildren, Keith, Bryce, Theresa, Jeremy, Allan, Glen, Ross, Marcel, Cindy, Cabe, Serge, Reed, Roland, Ronald, Denise and Ryan, and her great-granddaughter Ryleigh, along with many other family and friends, including the wonderful caregivers and volunteers at Bethany Care Centre in Airdrie.

A Memorial Service will be held at FOSTER’S GARDEN CHAPEL, 3220 – 4 Street N.W., Calgary (across from Queen’s Park Cemetery) on Sunday, May 7, 2017 at 2:00 p.m. In lieu of flowers, please donate in Louise's memory to Bethany Care Foundation at www.bethanycarefoundation.com.