MACLEAN, Dale

MACLEAN It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of Dale MacLean. She passed away in Lethbridge on November 12, 2024 due to complications related to leukemia.
She was born on the summer solstice in 1944 in Kidderminster England and grew up in the beautiful nearby hamlet of Far Forest with her parents, Daisy and Jack Hamer and her little brother, John.
The group of 4 moved to Edinburgh to be closer to extended family while she was a teenager. One of her favourite haunts was Fisher’s Close. The travel bug hit her early and she immigrated to Canada when she was 19 years old.
After the passing of her father, Jack in 1964, John and Daisy came to Canada to live nearby. She attended Alberta College of Art in Calgary and was an avid art collector and creator her whole life.
In Canada she lived in Calgary, Montreal, Swalwell and finally settled in Lethbridge in 1977. It didn’t take long before her creativity and entrepreneurial tendencies drove her to open Toy House Day Care in 1979 and Children’s Village a few years later. Dale took her position as day care operator seriously and cared deeply for each of the bairns in her care. The daycares, like her home, were beautifully decorated and infused with comfort and warmth.
With her loving husband Alastair they moved to Beaver Mines and created Alandale Lodge and Retreat in 1993. There they offered a sacred place for family and friends to gather and commune; enjoy skiing at nearby Castle Mountain, riding and hiking the local trails.
All her life, Dale derived immense satisfaction from creative expression. Along with a group of pioneering women, The Medicine Tree was founded in 2004. She enjoyed the process of imagining a unique service and bringing it to fruition for the benefit of her local community.
Over the years she travelled throughout Canada and the US, especially enjoying Sedona, Santa Fe and the Oregon coast. She loved travelling in the Westphalia. Among more distant locations she visited Moloka’i, Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand, Bali, Turkey, Japan, England and of course her beloved Scotland.
You will be missed. You made an indelible mark on your community and left it a better place.
We dinnae know how to be in this world without you, but we are constantly reminded that without darkness we cannae see th’ stars. And so, in those stars we will seek out the twinkle o’ yer bricht blue eyes shining back at us forever. Ride the stars sweet Sassenach.
Lovingly remembered always by her husband, Alastair, her children Haidee and Deryck (Karmen), her grandchildren Chihiro, Ayely, Oliver, Mairi, her brother John (Lesia) and all her kin in Scotland. Her mother, Daisy passed away in 2008.
In the spirit of continuing Dale’s passion for community building and in lieu of flowers please consider donating in her name to either Inclusion Lethbridge, for whom she was an ardent supporter for decades, or the MacLean Family Endowment Fund (with the Community Foundation of Lethbridge and Southwestern Alberta) supporting women and children’s issues.
Dale chose a green burial and will be laid to rest in the grasslands of the Royal View Memorial Cemetery. A private gathering of family and friends will be announced at a later date.
Thank you to Dr. Benke and Tanya and the entire team at the Jack Ady Cancer Centre for your attentiveness and care over the last 14 months. Our sincerest gratitude to Dr. Saleh, Dr Plotnyk, Dr. Roth and the numerous nurses and health care aides who assisted over the last few months. Bless you.
To send a condolence, please visit www.salmonandsons.ca