Dorothy Thorburn (Caruth)

With great sadness we announce that Dorothy-Jean Fern Thorburn (Caruth) passed away peacefully in her sleep on Dec. 21, 2019 at the U of A Hospital in Edmonton, AB. She re-joined her parents Samuel and Dorothy Caruth, brother Ken (Gladys) Caruth, and sister Shirley (Bernie) Shihinski. She will be lovingly remembered and greatly missed by Glen Thorburn, her husband of 54 years, her daughters Shauna (Bill) McKenney, Jeannine (Tho) Nguyen, Roxanne (Glen) Brown, her 10 grandchildren, 5 great-grandchildren, and her sisters Ilene (Ivan) Tschritter and Lillian (Dennis) Christensen.

Dorothy was born on May 29, 1945 in Killam, AB where she grew up on the family farm. She got her first job in 1962 as a telephone switchboard operator and always spoke proudly of how proficient she was at it and how much she enjoyed it. In 1965 she married Glen, had their first of three daughters and moved to St. Albert in 1968 to start their new life together. From this point on she dedicated her life to being the best wife and mother that she could be. She took great pleasure in constantly providing her family with delicious meals and an immaculately clean home.

She always had a genuine affection for small children and as her children grew up she decided to provide child care in her home for other families and eventually started working in the nursery at the local daycare center where she filled her need for babies. Once her children started moving out her career choice changed from managing children to managing properties and she moved to Edmonton where she put her cleaning skills to the test by managing a very large apartment complex. After doing this for several years a job opportunity came, and with it, the promise of milder winters so they moved to Medicine Hat in 1984 and except for a time in Kinuso and Strome, they remained there until early 2019 when they decided to return to their roots and moved to Killam.

After retirement Dorothy found great comfort in the simple things in life. She was always very humble and enjoyed spending special time with her family, quiet time with her cat and a good book, and crocheting blankets for all of her loved ones or toques for the babies at the local hospital. She loved making people laugh and would do the silliest things to get a laugh out of her grandchildren. She enjoyed travelling with Glen and was especially fond of Ireland and visited there on many occasions.

She always put the needs of others before her own and would give unconditionally to anyone in need. In the early seventies she was diagnosed with a very rare skin condition and because it was so rare she decided in 1973 to donate her body to scientific research in hopes of helping others with the same condition. Because of this, a memorial service celebrating her life will be held at a later date.

You don’t learn the true meaning of the words I miss you until you reach out to your loved one and realize they are no longer there. We will never forget your loving ways and will miss you forever. May you rest in peace until we meet again.