Lorraine Jean VanderPloeg (nee Anderson) passed away on April 1, 2025, at the age of 74 years.
Jean was born on March 27, 1951, in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Jean was the fifth of twelve children,
and on her fifth birthday, she received a baby brother that she got to name. There are different childhood memories about names that were batted around (Santa Claus?!), but Jean named him Robert.
After high school, Jean earned her accounting/bookkeeping diploma. She then met and married Mervin Shewchuk on July 24, 1971, in Winnipeg and together they had a daughter, Tracy. They left Winnipeg and moved to Kelowna for several years, and then moved to Calgary, Alberta. Merv passed away and Jean later married John VanderPloeg on November 29, 1997. When John passed in March 2009, Jean moved to be close to her daughter, Tracy, son-in-law Brett, and two grandsons, Joe and Sean. Jean, aka Baba, loved to cook, bake, and spend time with her family. She talked almost every day with at least one of her sisters and enjoyed hearing about their families and sharing recipes.
On April 1, we celebrated the twenty first birthday of Jean’s eldest grandson, Joe. This is a blessing and
reminder that God knows all and entrusts Joe with this honor of remembering our loved onesand cherishing life.
Jean is predeceased by many of her family members, including her mother, Fern Anderson,
father William Pchajek, brothers: Johnny, Albert, Morley, Gary and Bob, and her sister June. Jean will be missed by her much-loved sisters Irene (Bruce) Montgomery, Marion (Perry) Yamada, and Fern (Dave) Felske, as well as her brothers Stanley “Butch”, Fred (Darlyne) and Michael.
The family would like to extend their sincere gratitude for the care Jean received from the Red Deer Hospice Society. A private family service will be held to honor her life. We want to thank you for
your thoughts and prayers, and if you would like, donations may be made to the Red Deer Hospice Society in lieu of flowers. Condolences, 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

• Date : 2025-04-09
• Location : (Innisfail) LOCALLY OWNED AND OPERATED (Red Deer/Blackfalds/Eckville) www.ParklandFuneralHome.com & (Innisfail/Olds/Didsbury/Sundre) www.HeartlandFuneralServices.com