On December 31st 2017 we lost an incredibly special person, Loree Martin Vellner. She passed away in the Red Deer Hospital, as a result of a heart attack. Loree was our matriarch. A wife and once in a lifetime love, a mom, a mom-in-law, an auntie, a grandma, a great grandma, a teacher, a fierce and loyal friend, and an inspiration to many.
She was born in Red Deer to Kathryn (Kitty) Brown Martin-Ellis and Joseph Croft Martin. She had two sisters Mary (Fink), Paddy (Colborne) and a brother Joe Martin. She married James Robert (Bob) Vellner on July 20, 1956 who was her best friend and the love of her life. She has a daughter, Susan Vellner Snell, a son in law Tim Snell, a son Henry Martin (Marty) Vellner, daughter-in-law Tikki Vellner along with six grandchildren Jameson Fraser Snell, Jonathan Robert Vellner, Kristyn Loree Snell, Patrick James Vellner, Cameron Forrest Snell and Mitchell Martin Vellner. She was also blessed with two great grandchildren Vienna Rose Vellner, and Cooper Lucas Kudrycki. She was predeceased by her parents and by her sister Paddy Colborne.
Loree led a remarkable life that started from an early age in the performing arts. After making her mark as a competitive Dancer, winning best overseas competitor in the International Festival of Dance in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1954 and the best professional tap dancer at the same festival, she became a successful and well respected dance educator (Martin School of Dance). She held a degree in Kinesiology, was a clinician of dance and athletics and an international teacher and adjudicator. She was named Member Emeritus of Scottish Dance Canada, was a Fellow of the Scottish Dance Teacher’s Alliance, a Judge for the Scottish Official Board of Highland Dance and an honorary life member of Alberta Highland Dance Association. For many years, Loree was the sole sponsor of the choreography competitions at the Scottish Dance Canada Championship event, a true ambassador for highland dancing within and outside of Canada.
Loree was a member of the Royal Purple Lodge for over 59 years and was involved with the CWL. Her spirit was boundless. She took flying lessons, enjoyed rally car driving, water skiing, snowmobiling and sailing with her husband Bob and was Secretary Treasurer of the Red Deer Motorcycle Club.
Large family gatherings gave her great joy. Loree was genuinely interested in the lives of everyone. She loved her family deeply. Incredibly kind and charitable she supported many causes. In lieu of flowers, kindly make a donation to one of the following: Heart and Stroke Foundation, Canadian Diabetes Association or the SPCA.

She will forever be in our hearts, our laughter and our stories. She will live through her children, her grandchildren and her great grandchildren. We will speak often and highly of her quick wit, her smile and the way she filled a room with levity, warmth and a presence that radiated love. She will be deeply missed.
A prayer service will be held at Sacred Heart church on Saturday January 27, 2018 at 1:00p.m. A Funeral Mass and Celebration of Life will also be announced for a date later in the spring.
Condolences may be forwarded to the family by visiting www.eventidefuneralchapels.com.

• Date : 2017-12-31
• Location : Red Deer