The Grandmothers::Fay Chevallier

My mom was born on January 21, 1939 in High River, Alberta. She was an only child and had an incredibly close relationship with both her parents. She always tells me she had a wonderful childhood. She was raised on a farm. She had many chores to do. Her parents had milk cows and one of my mom’s jobs was to hand turn the separator. This separated the cream from the milk. She was thankful she did not have to collect the eggs as they had many chickens. She showed me a picture of my smiling grandfather carrying to large egg baskets brimming with eggs. My mom was very close to her dad. He was a very happy man, who always smiled and whistled. My mom adored him even when he teased her. She was also very close to her mom. The three of them were hardly ever apart. Even thought my mom had chores such as making the beds and preparing the breakfast everyday, she also had great fun on the farm. She had a cat, dog, and a horse. She would regularly dress up her dog and put him in her doll carriage. She taught her horse to do tricks too. She was lucky to own a camera. She captured her childhood in these pictures. My mom met my dad in Grade 11. After they graduated, they both attended SAIT. My mom took “Dress Making and Design”. It was a 2-year program, but sadly so many people dropped out that they did not offer the second year. However, she has a great talent for sewing and still enjoys creating many quilting projects today. My parents were married in December of 1959. My mom worked in hotels and was a nanny while my dad finished his drafting course at SAIT. While they were still in Calgary, they had their son Kevin. Shortly after Kevin was born, they moved to Rocky. Here they had three more children. My mom stayed home during my childhood and I am grateful for that. She worked hard at keeping the house and making the meals on a small budget. She was a great mom and offered us a great childhood. She eventually went back to college and earned her Early Childhood Education certificate. She was in her late 40's when she did this and I admire her greatly for her accomplishment. She worked in several day cares until she was finally able to retire. She enjoys her life at home. She keeps busy with her 3 grandchildren. I admire her for her positive attitude and this keeps her young well at heart and you would never guess she is 81! 

~ Colleen Mckenzie