Elizabeth Smiley

1946 - 2020

It is with our deepest sorrow that we inform you of the passing of our Mother; Elizabeth J. Smiley on May 3rd, 2020 at the age of 73. After a long battle of stage 4 metastatic breast cancer and other medical complications, it would be wrong to say that mom lost her battle because she never stopped fighting; no matter how sick mom was, she was always determined. Though mom’s health was failing for years, few people knew the extent to which she struggled. Her joy for life and time spent with the ones who loved her kept her pushing through the pain.

We want to share a little bit of mom’s accomplishments and opportunities that she was proud of. In mom’s teenage years she worked in the summer and winter as a Playground Instructor for 4 years; she loved working with children. One of mom’s ambitions in her teens was to be a Nurses Aide, although financially it couldn’t be met. In mom’s adult life she struggled with mental health, however she had said that her greatest achievement during this time was her four children (twin daughters & two boys). Mom was proud to see us grow up and be healthy & successful in whatever we chose to do. There was nothing she would rather see then our smiles and hear our laughter. She was proud of the people we have become and no matter what happened in life, she had the confidence in our abilities to make the right choices.  Mom always strived to be a great mother and we tried to always tell her that she was because she was. Mothers make mistakes, aren’t perfect, forget things, loose their cool, but that’s okay because we knew she loved us with all her heart. One of the things mom loved was the opportunity to live in Belgium as a family. She enjoyed all the experiences traveling through out Europe.  A few years after returning back to Canada from Belgium, mom dedicated herself to completing her high school diploma and then took a clerk typist course, receiving her certificate to get a job with the Provincial Government while raising the four of us. She became a Records Clerk for the Department of Federal & Intergovernmental Affairs. Shortly after her employment she had purchased her first home, as a single mother; we recall this being one of her proudest moments. Mom was full of excitement when she became a grandmother at the age of 40.  She had even more joy in her life when more grandchildren arrived in the following years (three granddaughters & one grandson). She loved them all dearly. Mom retired from the Provincial Government May 2011 at the age of 65.  When mom was 68 years old, she had become a great grandmother of two great granddaughters & two great grandsons…well that just filled her heart with even more joy. Mom, Grandma & Great Grandma you will be dearly missed and forever remembered.

Our Mother Elizabeth is survived by and will be lovingly remembered by her twin daughter; Carrie Smiley, granddaughters; Jeanine & Marisa Hardy, her other twin daughter; Cathy (Laurent) Arams; son-in-law, her granddaughter; Brittanie (Ryan) Thorne; grandson-in-law, her great grandchildren; Emma, Ryder, Zachary Thorne, her grandson; Kylian Locke {her great granddaughter Esmé Locke predeceased her in 2014} and by her two sons; Kenny and Trevor Smiley.

Friends and family knew mom as Elizabeth or Betty.  She was blessed to have many memorable experiences with everyone that knew her. Mom will be forever remembered by her numerous nieces, nephews and extended family’s and her dearest friends. We are deeply thankful and blessed…for the special, unique, amazing people in mom’s life who supported her, uplifted her, comforted her and brought her joy. Thank you.

Mom resided at the GEF Senior Housing in Edmonton at -Mountwood Apartments for 11 years, and then at Rosslyn Place Lodge for 1-1/2 years. Mom was happy and loved that she felt supported & secure living at GEF, mom called it home. It gave us a peace of mind knowing she was living in a great place where she was happy and well looked after. We are thankful that GEF Provides subsidized housing for seniors as this made life more pleasurable for our mother financially. Thank you to all the staff at GEF Senior Housing as they went above & beyond to ensure the health and happiness of our mother while she resided there. 

We would like to give a very special Thank you to Dr. Christine Sharek MD CCFP for her ongoing dedication, support, care & compassion for mom for 39 years.  We want to also thank Dr. A. Joy MD Oncologist, Dr. J. Toreson Orthopaedic Surgeon, Dr. A Chabassol Cross Cancer Pain & Symptom Control for their ongoing care & compassion and to many other doctors & health care staff that cared for mom through her medical journey. We send a heartfelt Thank you to all the staff at the Grey Nuns Palliative Care Unit 43 for all their compassion that they have shown mom and the comfort they gave her during the final days of her life.

As an expression of sympathy, there is a choice for memorial donations in memory of Elizabeth Smiley; Contributions may be donated to GEF Seniors Housing, 14220 -109 Avenue, Edmonton, AB T5N 4B3 or online at www.gef.org, (GEF is a registered charity) or if you desire you can donate to the Cross Cancer Institute at: www.albertacancer.ca or by calling 1-866-412-4222.