Shirley Marguerite Kostashuk

Shirley Kostashuk of Calgary, beloved Mother and Grandmother, passed away peacefully on Monday, March 11, 2019 at the age of 89 years. Shirley was born to Leo and Mary Van Dusen and raised in Wellington, Ontario. The eldest daughter of nine children, Shirley became mother to her siblings at the age of nine after her mother passed away suddenly. Upon graduating from the nursing program at Kingston General Hospital, Mom adventured out West with classmates where she met and fell in love with George. They were married in Rome, Italy, and spent several years in the Mediterranean and parts of Africa before returning to Canada to raise their family. Once settled in Calgary, Shirley began a life-long career of volunteering, most notably, with the Canadian Cancer Society. After 30 years, including 17 on the Calgary Board, Shirley “retired” with a merit award in 1993 (she continued to canvass and particularly enjoyed volunteering for Jail n’ Bail, especially when she had George “arrested” during an unexpected slow period). Shirley was also active in the CSEG Ladies Auxiliary where she served a term as president. She enjoyed badminton and the pool at the Glencoe Club, skiing with family (and racing at the CSEG ski-spree into her late 70’s), bridge, house boating and New Year’s with decades old friends, and all the outdoors Alberta, BC and Montana had to offer. Though Shirley never really pursued her career, she always defined herself as a nurse and our whole family benefitted from world class at-home health care (once there was sufficient evidence of illness). We also benefitted from Shirley’s talent in the kitchen; in an era when restaurants in Calgary served mostly steak and potatoes, our table would be garnished with what was considered exotic Italian and Spanish dishes (in fact, her youngest grandson recently mentioned that now everyone in heaven will know how to properly pronounce, “gazpacho”). She is survived by her brothers, Wilson and Edward; sisters, Millie and Josie; son, Michael (Peggy); daughters, Mary (Brenda Winston) and Liz Hann (Sean); and grandchildren, Christopher (Ariel), David (Tara), Tessa (Chase) and Liam. Shirley is predeceased by her husband, George; son, John; and her brothers Tom, Peter, Frank, and Pat. Memorial Service will be held at Living Spirit United Church (629 – 49 Ave. SW) on Saturday, March 23, 2019 at 2:00 pm.  Photos, memories and condolences may be shared with Shirley’s family through www.evanjstrong.com. Arrangements in care of EVAN J. STRONG FUNERAL SERVICES.  (403) 265-1199

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