Obituary for Elsie Doris Newton (Schowalter)
The loving family of Elsie Doris Newton is sad to announce her passing at Red Deer, Alberta on October 18, 2023 at the age of 97 years. Elsie had been the warm hearth at the centre of her family, embracing and nurturing four children, eight grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren. She will be deeply missed by them all. So how does one chronicle a spirited life that lasted nearly a century? What follows is the brief and simplified story of an incredibly smart, funny, kind and accomplished woman. Elsie was born on July 31, 1926 in the tiny hamlet of Hayter, just a few kilometres from Provost, Alberta. Her father was Eduard Schowalter, an industrious farmer, veterinarian, radio operator and softball umpire who emigrated to Alberta from South Dakota, U.S.A. in 1907. In 1915, Ed met and married Christense Pedersen, who had journeyed from her native Denmark to help her brothers on a farm adjacent to the Schowalter homestead.
Together they had six children. Elsie was the fifth. She grew up during the Depression and WW2 and developed a passion for sports and music. For many years she actively played on a touring softball team with her older sister Ruth and played piano and guitar in a family band with her brothers. In 1944 after high school she enrolled at Olds Agricultural College to study Home Economics and graduated in 1946. After graduation she moved to Edmonton, and worked as a stylist in a hair salon for three years. But the lure of Central Alberta remained strong, and urged by her Olds College roommate Marie Parsonage-Newton, she moved back to Innisfail in 1949 and started work as a ladies wear clerk at G.W. West’s General Store. Her best friend Marie was dating Dick Newton at the time and introduced Elsie to Dick’s brother Reg, who had served overseas with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. Romance blossomed and they married on July 21, 1951. They moved a house onto the original 1907 homestead of Reg’s father north of Innisfail and lived there for a brief period until buying their own farm bordering the southern town limits of Penhold. While Reg flourished in Penhold, creating a mobile home park, a residential housing subdivision and becoming mayor, Elsie raised her family, immersed herself in community and charitable groups, and organized most of Reg’s frequent social events. She honed her cribbage game against family, friends and all comers, to the point where she became virtually unbeatable. In her 60s she took up bowling and regularly finished atop her seniors’ league in Innisfail. In her 80s she started playing billiards, and jokingly referred to herself as a pool shark.
After Reg passed away in 2002, Elsie moved from Penhold to Innisfail and continued her active recreational and social life. In 2013, illness forced her to move to Red Deer and take up residence in an assisted living facility where her quick wit and humour endeared her to staff. Many took to calling her and her best friend Margaret the “Golden Girls”, named after the long running TV sitcom.
Unfortunately, this long and active life came to a crashing end in August of this year when she fell and broke her hip and arm. The ensuing two months in hospital until her death were very difficult. Elsie is survived by her four children: Ron (Liz) of Canmore, Alberta; Donna (Gerry) Power of Bedeque, Prince Edward Island; Doris (Roy) Kibermanis of Innisfail; and Ken of Red Deer. She is also lovingly remembered by grandchildren, Mike (Shannon) of Sherwood Park, Alberta; Sasha (Ryley) of Toronto; Cammy (Les) Brown of Airdrie, Alberta; Mark (Laurel) Sears of Durham, North Carolina; Janelle (Jay) Morrison of Revelstoke, British Columbia; Brittney (Nick) Wasson of Grande Prairie; Jordan Kibermanis of Innisfail; and Travis Newton of Grande Prairie, as well as six great-grandchildren that will carry her memory with them for many decades to come: Sadie, Lou, Milo, Everett, Noah, and Maya. Elsie is predeceased by her parents, Eduard and Christense Schowalter, her husband Reg, and her five siblings, Walter, Gilbert, Ruth, Cliff and Howard.
A Private Family Memorial was held October 26, 2023 in Innisfail after a burial service at the Innisfail Cemetery where she was laid to rest beside her husband Reg. If desired, Memorial Donations may be made to The Lending Cupboard Society of Alberta, #1-7803 50 Ave. Red Deer, Alberta, T4P 1M8 or at www.lendingcupboard.caCondolences, memories and photos may be shared and viewed at www.heartlandfuneralservices.com. Arrangements in care of: Heartland Funeral Services Ltd., 4415 – 49 Street, Innisfail, Alberta. Phone: 403.227.0006
Together they had six children. Elsie was the fifth. She grew up during the Depression and WW2 and developed a passion for sports and music. For many years she actively played on a touring softball team with her older sister Ruth and played piano and guitar in a family band with her brothers. In 1944 after high school she enrolled at Olds Agricultural College to study Home Economics and graduated in 1946. After graduation she moved to Edmonton, and worked as a stylist in a hair salon for three years. But the lure of Central Alberta remained strong, and urged by her Olds College roommate Marie Parsonage-Newton, she moved back to Innisfail in 1949 and started work as a ladies wear clerk at G.W. West’s General Store. Her best friend Marie was dating Dick Newton at the time and introduced Elsie to Dick’s brother Reg, who had served overseas with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. Romance blossomed and they married on July 21, 1951. They moved a house onto the original 1907 homestead of Reg’s father north of Innisfail and lived there for a brief period until buying their own farm bordering the southern town limits of Penhold. While Reg flourished in Penhold, creating a mobile home park, a residential housing subdivision and becoming mayor, Elsie raised her family, immersed herself in community and charitable groups, and organized most of Reg’s frequent social events. She honed her cribbage game against family, friends and all comers, to the point where she became virtually unbeatable. In her 60s she took up bowling and regularly finished atop her seniors’ league in Innisfail. In her 80s she started playing billiards, and jokingly referred to herself as a pool shark.
After Reg passed away in 2002, Elsie moved from Penhold to Innisfail and continued her active recreational and social life. In 2013, illness forced her to move to Red Deer and take up residence in an assisted living facility where her quick wit and humour endeared her to staff. Many took to calling her and her best friend Margaret the “Golden Girls”, named after the long running TV sitcom.
Unfortunately, this long and active life came to a crashing end in August of this year when she fell and broke her hip and arm. The ensuing two months in hospital until her death were very difficult. Elsie is survived by her four children: Ron (Liz) of Canmore, Alberta; Donna (Gerry) Power of Bedeque, Prince Edward Island; Doris (Roy) Kibermanis of Innisfail; and Ken of Red Deer. She is also lovingly remembered by grandchildren, Mike (Shannon) of Sherwood Park, Alberta; Sasha (Ryley) of Toronto; Cammy (Les) Brown of Airdrie, Alberta; Mark (Laurel) Sears of Durham, North Carolina; Janelle (Jay) Morrison of Revelstoke, British Columbia; Brittney (Nick) Wasson of Grande Prairie; Jordan Kibermanis of Innisfail; and Travis Newton of Grande Prairie, as well as six great-grandchildren that will carry her memory with them for many decades to come: Sadie, Lou, Milo, Everett, Noah, and Maya. Elsie is predeceased by her parents, Eduard and Christense Schowalter, her husband Reg, and her five siblings, Walter, Gilbert, Ruth, Cliff and Howard.
A Private Family Memorial was held October 26, 2023 in Innisfail after a burial service at the Innisfail Cemetery where she was laid to rest beside her husband Reg. If desired, Memorial Donations may be made to The Lending Cupboard Society of Alberta, #1-7803 50 Ave. Red Deer, Alberta, T4P 1M8 or at www.lendingcupboard.caCondolences, memories and photos may be shared and viewed at www.heartlandfuneralservices.com. Arrangements in care of: Heartland Funeral Services Ltd., 4415 – 49 Street, Innisfail, Alberta. Phone: 403.227.0006