Viola “Jean” Anna Seibel

Viola “Jean” Anna Seibel passed away peacefully at Points West Living Red Deer on February 21, 2023. Jean had made many new friends at Points West and enjoyed being part of that community.

Jean had always gone by her second given name. Her mother had always addressed her as Jean. Jean was born on December 1, 1932, being the youngest of nine children. Mom came from a large family. She had seven brothers and one sister. Being raised on a farm just outside of Rimbey, there was always a lot of work to be done. She loved telling of how back then she rode her pony back and forth to school.

Mom along with her cousin Bev and one other girlfriend decided they had enough of school so the three of them moved to Red Deer. In Red Deer, mom worked hard. She was a waitress and ironed white sheets for a laundry mat until she said “I started to look like a white sheet”. Her last job in Red Deer was working at Michener Center. From Red Deer, Mom moved to Calgary. In Calgary she got a job in the Central Alberta Sanatorium working with TB patients which she loved. She and her coworkers loved going to dances on the weekends. Mom came from a musical family who loved to sing and dance. Mom’s sister (Violet) had MS. She was married with children of her own. Mom saw a need and was kind enough to move to Exshaw to help her sister.

Mom moved back to Calgary where she took a ten month nursing course. It was here that she met and eventually fell in love with Harry Seibel. They married in Red Deer in July of 1955. The twins (Donald and Diana) were born about one year later on May 13, 1956. Mom and Dad were living in

Halkirk in a small trailer with no washer and dryer! Hard to imagine what that must have been like for Mom. From Halkirk they moved to Vermillion where Charlene was born on August 8, 1957. Larry came next, he was born in Vermillion August 8, 1960. In 1961, Dad was transferred to the small northern town of Peace River. There Mom gave birth to her youngest child Ryan on January 22, 1962. Dad worked a huge territory and was seldom home during the week leaving Mom on her own to manage five small children, all under the age of six. Jean and Harry finally settled in Red Deer in 1966. Red Deer became their forever home. Soon after Mom arrived in Red Deer, she acquired a part time position as a nurses’ aid at the Red Deer Auxiliary Hospital, which eventually led to full time employment. Even though Mom worked outside the home, she always kept the needs of her children first. Our family stayed busy playing many different sports, racing soapbox derby cars, watersking and boating. Mom always remained a pillar in our family. In retirement, Jean and Harry thoroughly enjoyed the fifteen years they spent being snowbirds, travelling extensively in the southwestern United States where they hiked, rode bikes and made new friends.

Jean will be lovingly remembered and sadly missed by her five children. Donald (Carole), Diana,

Charlene (Brad), Larry (Denise) and Ryan (Audrey). Eight grandchildren Greg, Thomas (Stephanie), Carla (Justin), Jackson, Darrel, Katelyn, Anna and Eric. Also, great-grandchildren Logan, Taylor, Jenna and Wolf. Jean was predeceased by her loving husband of 58 years, Harry, three grandsons, Jordan, Alex and Scott, as well as a grand son-in-law, Leif.

A memorial service for Jean will be held at Eventide Funeral Chapel, 4820 – 45 St on March 25, 2023 at 1:00 p.m. Cremation entrusted to Eventide Funeral Chapel. Condolences, memories and photos may be shared and viewed at www.eventidefuneralchapels.com

• Date : 2023-02-21
• Location : Eventide Funeral Home