Sheila Humphreys

It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of our beautiful mother, Sheila. She succumbed to a heart condition which she, in her usual fashion, minimized to avoid alarming those she loved. She leaves behind her grieving daughters, Marjorie Riendeau (Cal) and Fran Morrison (Rick), her brother, Tom Hazlitt, daughter-in-law, Carmen Lougheed (Doug), her grandsons Dan De Graaf (Hillary), Kyle De Graaf (Sam), and Jason Gaisford (Hikari), her great grandchildren, Lucas and Alice De Graaf, nephew, Ray Hazlitt (Kari), cousins and many friends.

Mom married very young, at age 15, and had 4 children by age 21. She was married to our father, George Gaisford, for 34 years. Her life had been fraught with grief and loss. Mom spent a few years in foster care as a very young child. Her brother, Ray Hickey, died unexpectedly at age 13 while at summer camp. She was faced with the devastating loss of her infant son, Johnny Gaisford, in 1960 and later, the passing of her son Rick Gaisford, her firstborn, in 2012. Her second marriage was to Bob Humphreys, who passed away in 2010. In 2018 she tragically lost her youngest grandson, Jordan Gaisford. Add to this the loss of her parents, grandparents, and other relatives and it became a lifetime of sorrows that might cause many to fall into a deep depression. But not our Mom.

Mom had a zest for life and always looked on the bright side. She enjoyed a good laugh and told some amazingly funny stories (think poo). She passionately loved the game of golf, playing 3 to 4 rounds per week at QB Memorial with her favourite buddies, Nicky and Donna. In fact, Mom golfed on the day of her death and her friends told us she played well and was in good spirits. She later spoke on the phone with another close friend, Marg, on the evening of her passing.

Mom loved the company of good friends, shopping, reading, Christmas, trips, and all animals, especially dogs. Mom became a dogsitter a couple years ago (she referred to herself as a surrogate dog mom) and enjoyed entertaining a variety of dogs in her home. It was truly her calling.

Above all else, Mom loved her family. She loved nothing better than bringing the family all together to share a meal and some card games, usually at her home. So many happy memories were made in her home.

Words cannot adequately express our sorrow at losing our beloved Mom. She was our comfort, our compass, and our best friend. We will announce a celebration of her life in a few months, once we have some time to process our enormous loss. Mom would want us to have fun. Please check back to this site in the New Year for details.

If you want to make a donation in Sheila’s name, please consider the BCSPCA.