Obituary of Glow Callfas

Glow Callfas (nee Taylor) July 15, 1936- April 10, 2017 With profound sadness we announce the peaceful passing of our Mum in her 81st year. Following a full and accomplished life, Mum’s body failed despite her mind and will remaining strong. Mum was a fiercely independent, hardworking, loving woman with an incredibly feisty spirit and wicked sense of humor. Mum was born in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan on July 15, 1936 to Marietta Doyle and George Eric Taylor. From her very first breath it was clear to her parents that she had a very special energy, a glowing twinkle in her beautiful blue eyes and so very fittingly she was named “Glow”. She was the eldest of three sisters whom she adored and was equally adored by them. Her Dad was a CIBC Bank Manager which led to her childhood and schooling taking place in a patchwork of communities across Saskatchewan including Moose Jaw, Birch Hills, Saskatoon and Lloydminster. She was an intelligent, insatiably curious child with a voracious appetite for reading and learning which continued as a common thread throughout her life. In 1957 she graduated from the first nursing class at University of Saskatchewan's Royal University Hospital Nursing Program. Her curious and adventurous spirit led her to seek unique opportunities so in 1958 at the age of 21, Mum and her nursing friend, Mary “Bo-Bo” Matiko left Canada to work in Galveston, Texas. Travelling this far afield was groundbreaking for single young women at that time. This was the start of a fulfilling 46 year nursing career that led to work in Edmonton (U of A), and Saskatoon (City and Royal University Hospitals). Mum worked in many diverse clinical areas including Medicine, Surgery, Intensive Care, Float, Phlebotomy, and Geriatrics. Her true gift was her ability to look beyond the patient and see the person. “When I think about all the patients and their loved ones that I have worked with over the years, I know most of them don’t remember me nor I them, but I do know that I gave a little piece of myself to each of them and they to me and those threads make up the beautiful tapestry in my mind that is my career in nursing.” Donna Wilk Cardillo Mum married in 1960, after which Mum and Dad moved often, living in Edmonton, Trinidad, British West Indies and Melbourne, Australia where all four of her children were born. Wanting the best for her children, Mum made the difficult and courageous decision to leave an unhealthy marriage. In 1968 she left Australia losing both the privilege and financial stability that came with her marriage. Mum moved back to Saskatoon with her four young children (ages 3, 4, 5 & 7) and with fierce independence, created a loving home, affectionately known as “our nest”, where she remained for 49 years. Mum's greatest pride and accomplishments were her children. It was important to Mum as a single parent that our childhood was filled with vacation adventures, unique pets, music lessons, sports activities, Sunday school, and special times during the holiday seasons. Childhood memories include Elvis Presley and Jerry Lewis Saturday afternoon movie double features, family outings to Riversdale Pool, Pike Lake, holiday celebrations with big turkey dinners rotating between our house and grandma & grandpa T's, dancing to Englebert Humperdinck, Bobby Vinton and Johnny Mathis in the kitchen as their songs swooned out from her cranked up 33 LP’s. Like many families, there was life’s up and downs, through it all she was always there for us and gave unconditional love. The saying, “the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree” certainly resonates as we are so fortunate to have many of our Mum’s greatest attributes…..courage, independence, strength and dare we say a bit of her feistiness. As much as Mum loved her family and career, she also had many interests and hobbies that kept her busy. She travelled to many exciting places including Las Vegas, Branson, NYC, Miami, New Orleans, Mexico, Fiji, Provincial Parks and most notably Hawaii which she loved. She took great pride in her beautiful home and was an avid gardener with the most beautiful rose bushes in the neighborhood! She loved keeping up with current affairs on TV and reading the newspaper which was a daily affair. Her intelligence and curiosity along with her innate CSI interest fueled her love for murder mystery shows and books. Mum had exceptional organizational skills, she always had lists, lists and more lists, both for herself and us; when we received our “suggested” honey do lists we always had a little chuckle. All who knew mum experienced her genuine personal interest in them. She had a gift of listening, and made special effort to remember the smallest of details. Connecting with people in her life, on the things that were important to them, was treasured by her. Mum’s resilience and perseverance helped her through life’s ups and downs. Whether it was dealing with a major home renovation at age 75 or the death of her son, Mum always persevered. Over the last few years she was faced with many health obstacles. Mum fought hard and valiantly tried to recover her strength but when it was obvious that this was not to be, she rested in the comfort of knowing that hardships are a test of faith and that death is the evolution of the soul. Mum was so very appreciative of the many acts of kindness and support shown to her by her wonderful neighbors; she felt so lucky to have neighbors that were also dear friends. We will miss and love you “mumma” always and immeasurably. Your life story is long in words but knowing how you loved reading a good obituary/life story we honor you with these heartfelt words that reflect a life well lived. Go in peace and with our love forever and always. Mum was predeceased by her loving son David, her parents, her dear friends Stella, Lena and Elsie and our father Gordon Callfas. She is survived by her three daughters, Teri, Kathy and Kelly; her two sisters Lynn (John) Dallin and Candy (John) Laframboise and many lifelong friends with special mention to Lil. A special thanks to the palliative care nurses (especially Gail Fitzpatrick), Dr. R Rajakumar, Dr. Teofilov and Dr. R Nataraj whose care and comfort improved her quality of life.