It is with sad hearts that we announce the passing of Mary Kathleen Topley peacefully at her home in Red Deer, Alberta on Saturday, October 4, 2014. Mary had a very fulfilled life for her eighty-six years and celebrated life each and every day. She loved family, friends, flowers, trees, birds, work, chores, volunteering and generally doing anything it took to make other’s lives easier. Mary, born the only child of Louise and Barnard Barker on March 6, 1928, grew up a farm-girl in Endiang, Alberta until moving to Coronation at age of fifteen to attend high school. Mary then began work at the local meteorological station. There she became passionate about her job and studied cloud formations she so enjoyed talking to her family and friends about. Mary met Jim Topley in Coronation and later married and moved to Red Deer to raise the family. Mary resided in Red Deer ever since, but was always available to travel for leisure and exploring, or more graciously, to help family and friends. Mary always had an abundance of energy and openly shared her attitude that we can do anything we set our minds to. After enjoying only three short years of marriage prior to Jim’s passing, Mary raised two boys on her own using babysitting, clothes-ironing and working part-time at a local newspaper to finance the family until the boys were of school age. Mary then was hired by the City of Red Deer where she worked for twenty-one years until retirement at City Hall. The neighborhood witnessed Mary’s ‘can do attitude’ when Mary and her two pre-teen boys shingled the entire roof of their home. Those close to Mary knew you were soon to be in quite an argument if you told Mary she was incapable of doing something. Mary, being the neighborhood ‘fun-mum’ and never too coy to be a bit of a child herself, inspired the neighborhood kids to be creative and to have fun, thus Mary was often observed with an entire barrage of local kids flying kites in the parade square, fishing at the creek, catching gophers in the field by the house, supervising while the kids messed up her kitchen cooking their favorites, teaching those that wanted to learn how to knit or crochet, arriving early at the outdoor hockey rink so she could sign-out the goalie equipment so the kid could practice, or just telling what seemed to be endless stories of her life. When Mary saw a child at the rink with cold hands, it became her mission to outfit the child with her famous knitted Mary-Mittens. Mary was the person you could always count on no matter what and always responded positively to a “Mary, would you mind…..”. Conversely, everyone knew if Mary reluctantly asked for help, she had exhausted all her limited resources – the few she asked to help never batted an eye to help out. Mary gave her time and whatever was needed to help out others with a temporary ‘boost’, opening her home, heart and offering her limited avails to the many that she recognized as needing help. (She is truly a person that saw the cup as half-full and always tried to see the good in everyone.) Mary’s goal in life was to ensure that Bob and Doug never suffered from being a one-parent family, valuing her boy’s welfare far ahead of her own. If Bob were here today, he would attest with Doug that neither of them ever suffered, in-fact they would chime with pride that “Mum did it all”. Mary being the epitome of selflessness, ensured her ‘boys’ had a new hockey stick, patched or re-patched hockey gloves and sharp skates to start each hockey season, had restrung ball gloves prior to baseball season, and never failed to at least have freshly patched hand-me-downs or new jeans to wear to school for opening day. Between the boys and her work at City Hall, who would expect she still had time in her day for crafts or hand-sewing the hundreds of little Red Deer that would be passed out to celebrate Canada’s Centennial. Mary always said that if something is broken, fix it as it won’t fix itself; a motto that she herself carried to the fullest as exemplified by her fellow City Hall friends seeing her covered with grease and ink after fixing the printing machine because “the property taxes had to be mailed out and could not wait until the repairman could fix the machine”. The latter was just one of many things Mary did beyond her call to duty at Red Deer City Hall and in general life that earned her to be named the very first recipient of the Bob Stollings Memorial Award – for dedicated service and outstanding civic performance in 1985. Yes, Mary touched different people in different ways and will be missed by all that shared their moment in her life. Mary valued and looked forward to every opportunity where family could assemble, as evidenced by her involvement in family reunions on both the Topley and Tucker sides of her family tree. (Mary spent endless hours researching and chronicling her family tree) in order that her family can maintain it in her absence. Mary attended Gaetz Memorial United Church faithfully until health issues precluded her attendance. But that didn’t stop Mary as she continued to support the church by hand writing hundreds of Christmas cards while confined due to health issues. Mary is survived and sadly missed by her son, Douglas John (Bev) Topley, daughter-in-law, Giselle (Garth) Olson, grandchildren, Melissa, Angela and Craig, grandchildren, Lisa and Dana (Doug and Bev), plus eight great grandchildren; Korbin, Harper, Tye (Melissa and Jaret Leece), Haemish, Ayzlyn, Tayva (Angela and Matt Barich), Isla (Craig and Natasha Topley) and Taylor (Lisa and Scott Crossett). Mary was predeceased by her husband, James (Jim) Roy Topley in 1952, and by son, Robert (Bob) James in 1999. Mary’s wishes are to be cremated and join Bob at the foot of Jim’s grave. In closing, one word can be used to capture life with Mary; inspirational! Please feel free to contact Doug at djtopley@gmail.com so he can share your message with Mary’s family. A Celebration of Mary’s Life will be held at Gaetz Memorial United Church, 4758 – 50 Street, Red Deer, Alberta on Saturday, October 18, 2014 at 1:00 p.m. If desired, Memorial Donations in Mary’s honor may be made directly to the Heart & Stroke Foundation of Alberta at www.heartandstroke.ab.ca or to the Gaetz Memorial United Church Memorial Fund, 4758 – 50 Street, Red Deer, Alberta, T4N 1X2. Condolences may be sent or viewed at www.parklandfuneralhome.com. Arrangements in care of Gordon R. Mathers, Funeral Director at Parkland Funeral Home and Crematorium, 6287 – 67 A Street (Taylor Drive), Red Deer. 403.340.4040.