April 12, 1934 - November 30, 2024
In loving memory ~
It is with gratitude for a life well-lived that the family of V. Lorraine Arnold announce her passing in her sleep at Peace Hills Lodge, where she lived for the last three years.
Lorraine was born on a small farm west of Lacombe to Roy and Jennie Whitecotton, and grew up between two brothers, Glen and Allan. She finished high school at 16, took a job at the Lacombe Globe for a year, and then went to one year of Teachers' College. That qualified her, at 18, to teach in a one room school at Birch Lake, Alberta.
During her second year teaching there, at a church service in that one room school., Lorraine realized her need for a Saviour, and chose to follow Jesus. After a year of Baptist Leadership Training School in Calgary, she got a job teaching Grade 6 and then High School in Wetaskiwin, where she met Mervyn Arnold, and married him in 1958. They worked on their farm at Maskwacis for the next 34 years and raised their children, which Lorraine always said was her greatest accomplishment.
Lorraine continued as a substitute teacher in Ponoka, Wetaskiwin and at Ermineskin School, and took evening and summer classes to eventually earn her B.Ed. In 1969, she was invited by Canada Manpower to start an upgrading program for adults on the Samson Reserve to prepare them to take the apprenticeship exam. This was a success and was the beginning of 20 years of adult education in Maskwacis, which she considered her most significant contribution to the community.
When Lorraine retired, she and Mervyn sold the farm to the Samson band and moved into Wetaskiwin in 1992. Lorraine had been diagnosed with breast cancer in 1983, and felt her mission was to support others facing cancer. She was actively involved in supporting the Canadian Cancer Society and the Cross Cancer Institute for many years, and then volunteered in other ways - doing income tax forms for seniors, tutoring children, teaching classes at the Mission Church and Sunday School at the Louis Bull church, cooking for Bible Camps, collecting and watering flowers for Communities in Bloom, or running garage sales for various charities.
In 2014, Lorraine and Mervyn received the "Pioneer of the Year" award at the Wetaskiwin Museum and she, this fall, was inducted into the "Women of Aspenland" at the Museum. Lorraine was a gifted woman who loved to serve others.
Lorraine was predeceased by Mervyn, her husband of 60 years, in 2019. She is fondly remembered and will be missed by her children, Mark (Christy), Murray (Ellen), Jon (Jennifer) and Kerry (Kris Bremec); along with 8 grandchildren and 7 great-grandchildren; her dear friend, Ernie Tessari; as well as her two brothers, Glen (Audrey) and Allan; and many nieces, nephews, brothers-in-law and relatives.
For those wishing to make a donation, Lorraine would want you to support the Cross Cancer Institute.
Honoured to Serve the Arnold Family
