MAVIS POULSEN

August 20, 1924 ~ November 29, 2019

It is with saddened hearts we share the Fond Farewell of ‘Gramma Mae’ as she was known to so many. Mavis O. Poulsen passed away in Medicine Hat, Alberta, on Friday, November 29, 2019, at the age of 95 years, surrounded with love and music. She leaves to cherish her memory her Alberta family, Maureen (Bob) Laidlaw and their children Heather (Rob) Hart (Ryler, Chase, Levi, Kassidy); Karla (Garth) Porteous (Kiara, Landon (Kale in Heaven), Makaya); Wes (Lydia) Laidlaw (William); Janice (Jess) Donahue (Megan, Brady) and her son’s Florida family, the late Jerry (Crystal) Olson and their children, Kathryn (Brad) Morem (Luke, Grant) and Courtney (Vivian) Olson (Sebastian). She is survived by her sister, Marjorie Beckerleg; brother, Bunny Harry (Gail) Johnson; brother-in-law, Bruce Olson; sister-in-law, Jane Ballard as well as extended family and friends. Mavis was predeceased by her parents, Violetta and Harry Johnson.

Mavis lived an extraordinary life in her 95 trips around the sun! The key to her longevity was not her diet, it was that she blossomed wherever she was planted. She had an adventurous spirit, and was always an optimist at heart. On a cold and rainy day, she would always say, “I think the sun is going to shine!”

She was born in Salmon Arm, BC, and grew up in Airdrie and Calgary. Together with her husband, Jerry, they raised a family in the 1950’s Happy Day Era. After her husband, Jerry, passed away in a church maintenance accident, she worked at The Great Falls National Bank. In 1974, she married Russell (Swede) Poulsen, who shortly after passed away in a single-engine plane crash. In 1980, she married George Johnson, and life took them to Scottsdale, AZ, for a few years before his passing. She remained in the Sunny South where she enjoyed 29 years of Jerry’s family, baseball games, Valley Presbyterian Church, the McCormick Ranch Women, scoring for the PGA and following the AZ Coyotes. During these years, she traveled the world, but she was always the happiest sitting around a table with her family and friends. In 2009 and with dual citizenship, she moved back to Medicine Hat to live by her daughter and her family. While enjoying all the family’s school, music, and sporting events, she became a Red Hat Lady along with Maureen that developed into a real sisterhood. At 92, she enrolled in the Cyber Senior Course so she could send and receive pictures and messages from near and far. She loved pictures! With her Wellington Family, she was the BINGO Queen and she liked working at the Tuck Shop. She enjoyed Mondays with Marten, Sunday afternoon church, reading with the school children, going to the band concerts and enjoying coffee afterwards.

Mom will be remembered for her generosity, finding the “in things” before they were in. Her passion was knitting beautiful lace baby shawls for all her great-grands; sewing lovely clothes in her younger days; baking cinnamon rolls, cakes, and chocolate chip cookies; loving to iron and garden; being the best cheerleader for one and all, always having a soft spot for children, and touching everyone’s lives in a special way! She was a Grand and Classy Lady with beautiful dimples. She was loved and will be greatly missed by all!

A Celebration of Life will be held at Cook Southland Funeral Chapel, 901 – 13th St. SW, Medicine Hat, on Sunday, December 8, 2019, at 1:00 p.m. Burial will take place in Great Falls, MT, on a warm and sunny day.

Memorial donations in Mavis’ name may be made directly to the Town of Bow Island Library Fund, PO Box 100, Bow Island, AB, T0K 0G0. Mom loved the little children so the funds will be used to help complete the new outdoor library solarium during the summer of 2020. (Condolences may be expressed by visiting www.cooksouthland.com). Honoured to serve the family is

Cook Southland Funeral Chapel, 901 – 13th Street S.W. Medicine Hat, Alberta T1A 4V4 Phone 403-527-6455