Sharmaine Ray Welling of Red Deer, Alberta, passed away at Extendicare Michener Hill, Red Deer on Wednesday, November 12, 2014 at the age of 65 years. Sharmaine was born on September 13, 1949 in Medicine Hat, Alberta. She was raised and grew up on a ranch in the Eagle Butte Area of Southern Alberta. Sharmaine attended the Hillcrest Christian College for her Grade 10. Then she went on to attend Secretarial School and eventually moved to Red Deer. Sharmaine will be deeply missed but forever cherished in the hearts of her family and dear friends. Sharmaine will be lovingly remembered by her spouse, David Vincent, son, Kurtis (Susanne) Welling of Spruce Grove, Alberta, daughter, Sheiligh Welling of Red Deer, three grandsons and brother, Raymond (Rose) Garlough of Calgary. She was predeceased by her mother, Lily Clara Garlough (nee Tinis) in 1989 at the age of 64 years and her father, Wesley Garlough in 1992 at the age of 79 years. A Celebration of Sharmaine’s Life will be held at Parkland Funeral Home, 6287 – 67A Street (Taylor Drive), Red Deer, Alberta on Tuesday, November 18, 2014 at 11:00 a.m. with Pastor Ross Helgeton officiating. If desired, Memorial Donations in Sharmaine’s honor may be made directly to the Canadian Cancer Society at www.cancer.ca. Condolences may be sent or viewed at www.parklandfuneralhome.com. Arrangements in care of Maryann Hansen, Funeral Director at Parkland Funeral Home and Crematorium, 6287 – 67 A Street (Taylor Drive), Red Deer. 403.340.4040.

Sharmaine's Life Story:

She was born September 13, 1949, in the Medicine Hat Hospital to Lil and Wes Garlough. Then it was life on the ranch in Eagle Butte for 5 years until the birth of her baby brother, Raymond. Mom became a bit of a handful as she was entering her teenage years, so Wes asked his sister and brother-in-law, Maureen and Martin Schlinker, if she could live with them in Medicine Hat to finish school. They agreed, so for a time she bunked with cousin Brenda. Then she met a dashing, young, duck-tailed fellow named Ray Welling; 140 pounds of twisted steel and sex appeal. They soon fell hopelessly in love, and then found themselves “in the family way.” They were married, then along came Sweet Little Sheila, named after Ray’s favourite song by Tommy Roe. Life was difficult for the young couple, but they got along with both of their parents’ help. Then almost 2 ½ years later a baby brother for Sheila, named Kurtis, was born. Sharmaine spelled his name with a “K” in homage to her favourite actor with the dimple in his chin, Kirk Douglas, whom she adored. Sharmaine’s and Ray’s relationship was a passionate one, but unfortunately it was not destined to last. After their divorce Sharmaine and the kids moved to Red Deer. She got work as a waitress in a bar and enrolled in Reeves Business College to finish the secretarial training she had begun in Medicine Hat. She quit waitressing and found employment with the Michener Centre as a medical dicta-typist while her children grew up. The winter of Sharmaine’s 27th year was challenging for her, to say the least. Her children remember that, even though the rest of their home was warm and cozy, mom’s bedroom window was always open – even on the coldest of nights. She kept her bedroom door closed, though, to keep the cool temperatures to herself. Much later it was revealed by her to her daughter that she had been diagnosed with uterine cancer. Her partial hysterectomy took care of ridding her of the cancer, as well as giving her the gift of “the change.” She took it all in stride and pushed forward in life, working hard to take care of her family. She had some nice boyfriends, and some not-so-nice boyfriends. And after her children were grown up and on their own, she moved around a little, trying to save up some money so she could have a nice place to call her own. This involved sharing accommodations with friends on a few occasions, and living for a time in Sylvan Lake and in Drumheller. After living in Drumheller for a while she found she missed Red Deer. Soon after returning she met David Vincent, and a friendship grew into genuine affection and respect for each other. Her children were happy to see that their mom had finally found someone deserving of her love and devotion; someone who treated her well and who was very kind and generous. Dave was heartily welcomed into the family and he fit right in, becoming step-dad to Sheiligh and Kurtis, and Grampa Dave to Sheiligh’s son, Steve and, later on, to Kurtis’ and Susi’s sons Carter and Grady. When it came to her children, grandchildren, and nephew and niece, Sharmaine showered them with an abundance of love and care. There was no such thing as too many hugs for her babies. All that Sharmaine wanted to do was to help and protect her family to the best of her ability – and she absolutely succeeded in this endeavour. Her friends were also covered by Sharmaine’s veil of love and protection. It hurt her to see anyone she loved in pain or in trouble, and always did whatever she could to help out even if it was just to lend an ear and a shoulder. When Sharmaine had her first heart attack it was quite a shock for all who knew her. The family was extremely grateful that her partner, Dave, was with her when it happened and that he took such great care of her at that very difficult time. He got her to the hospital very quickly, which was instrumental in her recovery from this traumatic event. Life went on for about 5 years afterward. Then Sharmaine had another heart attack. This one was not so easy to come back from, but her resolve became even stronger and she worked hard to get better so she could watch her grandchildren grow up. By this time she and Dave had purchased a house in Penhold, and Sheiligh and Steve were invited to live with them and share living expenses, which was gratefully accepted. Sharmaine was experiencing some pain in her abdomen and knew that something wasn’t right. A diagnosis of ovarian cancer devastated everyone. Sharmaine faced this new challenge with her characteristic stoicism, took the bull by the horns and fought for her life. When it looked like she was going to prevail, though, the cancer said “no, sorry Sharmaine, but I have other plans for you.” The cancer moved into her brain which proved to be the biggest challenge yet, but Sharmaine still had some fight in her. She stayed with her family for another 2 years, and was in fairly good health and spirits for the first one. This past year has been a blessing for her family, giving them the opportunity to love her and care for her as she has loved and cared for them all her life. She entered hospice care from the hospital in March of this year and spent almost 5 months in their loving care. She was so strong and wanted so badly to stay with her family as long as possible, she was determined to keep on fighting even after the doctors said it was terminal. In August she was moved to a long-term care facility and blessed us with her presence for another 3 months. Dave has been totally devoted to her, spending hours with her most every day and making sure that her medical caregivers were doing right by her. Sharmaine was happy when people came to visit --- whether it was her friends that she used to work with, or her family. She enjoyed their visits tremendously. And anyone could see by the smile on her face whenever her grandchildren were around how much she dearly loved them and how proud she was of them. It was a treat for mom that Brian and Norma Schlinker, along with Brenda Hornung, came to visit in the last weekend of October. Dave and Sheiligh were also present for that visit, and there was much talk of what our kids are doing now, and a little reminiscing. Mom was awake for the whole visit and seemed to be mostly plugged in to what was happening. Then, during the first week of November we noticed that mom was sleeping a lot more and that her breathing was laboured. Sheiligh went to feed her lunch on Sunday, November 9th, but Sharmaine was unable to swallow anything. Kurtis, Susi and the boys had come down that day from Spruce Grove for a visit and arrived shortly after Sheiligh. They got to give her hugs and kisses, then Sharmaine was taken to the hospital. When Sheiligh met with the doctor she told him what the family had discussed; that they wanted her to be as comfortable as possible and that she not be in any pain. Dave and Sheiligh took turns staying with Sharmaine constantly for the last few days of her life. They told her that they loved her and appreciated her. At 1:30am on Wednesday, November 12th Sheiligh told her mom that, even though she would be greatly missed, it was okay for her mom to go. Then she read to her from the Psalms while rubbing her shoulder. It is believed that Sharmaine left this world peacefully around 6:00am, as that is when Sheiligh awoke from her vigil. Despite hardships and heartache, Sharmaine worked hard to provide her loved ones with peace, safety, happiness and anything else they needed. She lived her life as well as she could, and focused on the important things in life -- people. She leaves her family and friends with many happy memories of a woman who often put others’ needs before her own and never wanted anyone to make a fuss over her. She will be missed and fondly remembered by all whose lives were touched by her.