Obituary of Lucille Gertrude Yingst

Our Mom, Lucy, was born on November 9, 1937 in Red Deer, Alberta. The family grew to five children and eventually settled in Calgary and area. Mom always described her childhood and her family with great love and affection and remained very attached to them throughout her life. She described that her parents made each one of them feel unique and special.

Mom was a hard worker and bought her first car with her wages, before she even knew how to drive. She did secretarial work for the Calgary Police Service for a brief time after high school, then met and married our father, Dr. Larry Yingst in 1960.

Our parents began their married life in Saskatchewan, where Mom worked for the Government of Saskatchewan as a secretary, so Dad could pursue further university studies. He eventually graduated with a Ph.D. in Education and worked as a Superintendent of schools, and we followed him around the province for his work, including to Castor and Canmore. We eventually settled in Calgary in 1975. Mom then used her administrative skills to help Dad get an office set up for his various businesses, and she also worked as a real estate agent.

Mom battled and beat cancer, despite a recurrence which required major surgery to remove lymph nodes in her neck.

Our family liked to travel and we visited Britain and Spain, with a brief trip to Tangiers, Morocco. In the early 1980’s, Dad saw “The Love Boat” and decided we should all go on a cruise, so we cruised to Mexico on the Love Boat. We also spent vacation time together in Disneyland and Hawaii. Mom also traveled to Britain with her extended family.

Mom and Dad divorced after 23 years of marriage. Mom then moved to the Victoria area to be closer to her sisters. She owned a Christian bookstore for a short time, and then began foster parenting as a career. When asked how many children she fostered over the years, she couldn’t even number them, but many children in crisis were helped through her work. Her specialty was teenagers, so we all wondered if she was crazy.

Mom spent 40 years living in British Columbia, with various trips back to Alberta and Saskatchewan to visit her children and grandchildren. She moved to Strathmore, Alberta to be closer to her children in October of 2023, when her health began to fail.

Mom was also a voracious reader throughout her life and loved crossword puzzles (the hard ones…). She often said her crossword puzzles helped her brain to stay strong. She was grateful she was coherent and lucid and able to make her own choices regarding treatment, as her health worsened. She passed away on Easter Sunday, March 31, 2024, at the age of 86, with family by her side.

Mom was always very proud of her family and leaves behind her three daughters: Shannon Fenn (Darwin); Cheryl Yingst Bartel (Otto); and Michelle Fielden (Wes). She also leaves behind seven grandchildren: Jonas Fenn (Paloma); Nathan Fenn (Heather); Lucas Bartel; Jacob Bartel; Kate Bartel; Kalen Taylor (Michelle); and Evin Hornell (Justin). She also has seven great-grandchildren: Jackson, Beckett, Ellette, Ivey, Marcus, Mason and Madison.

We offer our most sincere thanks to all of the nurses, aides and doctors at Strathmore Hospital, for their excellent care of Mom during the last month of her life, and for their compassion to both her and us during her palliative care. We offer a special appreciation to Dr. O’Brien for his caring manner towards both Mom and her family, during her time in palliative care.

A private family celebration of Mom’s life will be held at a later date.