Obituary of Ardith Delores Bruce
Ardith "Delores" Bruce
(July 18, 1931 - December 12, 2023)
Delores Bruce of Camrose, Alberta, formerly Ohaton, passed away on Tuesday, December 12, 2023, at the age of 92 years.
Delores was born July 18, 1931. The third child of Roy and Myrtle Olson. A little sister to Leon “Buddy” and Lorraine and eventually a big sister to Larry.
Delores grew up on the farm with her siblings and schooled at Shelburne, Hampton and later, Bawlf.
In her younger years, she worked at Cliff’s service station and remembers skiing in the ditches behind Cliff’s truck on Sunday afternoons. Joyce was her childhood and lifelong friend who happened to have a brother named Harold who caught her eye. Harold and Delores were married in June 1950 and Robert, Judy, Cathy, Murray, and Mark were born to this union.
Starting up a farm was hard work, but they always found time to take a holiday, usually to the mountains. Delores had a lifelong love for the mountains, as well as, gardening, fishing, reading, and camping. Her involvement with the community included church, neighbours, friends, and floor curling.
Harold’s sudden death in 1969 left Delores with five kids under the age of seventeen, but she kept on running the farm with a lot of family and community support.
She married Tom in 1973. Together, they travelled Alberta in their motorhome, fishing with Chester, Valerie, Marvin, and Helen for years. Delores and Tom moved to Camrose to house-sit for a few winters and after Tom’s passing in 2010, she moved into her condo. She acquired many great friends amongst her new neighbours and lived on her own until her fall this September.
In the hospital, Delores continued life as before, making friends with the staff and her roommates, reading, and visiting with friends. She was recovering well from her fall at the time of her unexpected death.
Left to cherish her memory are her children Judy (Tom) Knight, Cathy (Michael) Schwab, Murray Farness (Elaine Nixon), and Mark Farness; her grandsons Chris (Iris) Farness, Justin (Courtney) Schwab, and Dalton Schwab (Sam Nycholat); her great-granddaughter Laken Schwab; one brother, “Buddy” Olson; and numerous cousins, nieces, nephews, neighbours, and friends.
Delores was predeceased by her parents Roy and Myrtle Olson; her 1st husband Harold Farness; her son Robert Farness; 2nd husband Tom Bruce; brother Larry Olson; and sister Lorraine Glidden.
A Funeral Service was held at 11:00 a.m., Monday, December 18, 2023, at the Messiah Lutheran Church, 4810 - 50th Street Camrose officiated by Rev. Garth Wehrfritz Hanson. The service was live-streamed and a recording is accessible at the following link: Messiah Church. The interment has taken place at the Parkland Lutheran Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions in Delores's memory may be made to CAFCL, Parkland Cemetery Fund, or to Skudeness Lutheran Church.
