LORNA DAVINA SHAW (nee GLEN)

LORNA DAVINA SHAW (nee GLEN)
It is with sadness, the family of Lorna Shaw (nee Glen) shares the news of her passing in Calgary on Tuesday January 14, 2025. She will be lovingly remembered by her brother, Ross Glen and her nieces & their families, Cathy (Dave) Orr & Debbie (Rob) Will, Shirley Connolly and her Niece Jane Romalo (Ben Crocker) and other family members from the Shaw family.
Lorna never expected to return to Calgary after so many decades, but she was happy to be around family and it was special for us to be able to spend time with her. She was direct, practical and very pragmatic right to her final days.
Lorna was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba on October 20, 1926, to Phyllis (nee Ross) and William Glen. The family moved to Calgary in 1935 due to her father’s job with Dominion Life and in 1937 her brother, Ross William was born. The family purchased their first home in Roxboro and later moved to Scarboro.
Lorna completed primary and secondary school in Calgary and then attended Mount Royal College to take first year of pre-medicine. She completed a BSc in 1948 at the University of Alberta. She then started a master’s program in Biochemistry. It was here that she met her future husband, Ridley Shaw. They were married in July 1949.
After both completed their master’s program, they travelled to Madison, Wisconsin where Ridley enrolled in a Doctoral program and Lorna did cancer research.
In December 1952, Ridley accepted a position at McDonald College in Ste. Anne de Bellevue, Quebec. It was while there that their daughter Carol was born in 1953.
In 1954, the family moved to Valleyfield, Quebec where Ridley worked for Merck Pharmaceuticals and their son, Greg was born in 1956.
In 1959 the family returned to Alberta to Ralston where Ridley worked for D.R.E.S. (Defense Research Establishment Suffield). In 1962 they moved into Medicine Hat. Since both children were now in school, Lorna started working part time for the John Howard Society.
In 1965 Ridley took a sabbatical leave at the Brain Institute at UCLA Los Angeles. During this year, Lorna took education courses at UCLA and did practice teaching at Venice High School.
On returning to Medicine Hat, Lorna taught grade 12 biology for 3 years part time at Medicine Hat High School. When Carol became ill, she resigned and did volunteer work for many years.
She was appointed to the Board of Medicine Hat College in 1971 and served for 6 years 2 and a half years as Chairman.
In 1980, Lorna successfully ran for the Medicine Hat School Board where she served for 6 years 1 year as chairman. For the remainder of her working career, she taught Biochemistry and Medicine Hat College for several years.
After Ridley’s retirement, Ridley, Lorna and Carol moved to Duncan, British Columbia where they lived for 10 years & then moved to in 1997, they moved to Waters Edge in Saanichton where they lived until Ridley passed 2004.
Lorna moved into the Kensington and then into Rosebank Gardens in Victoria, British Columbia. She spent the last 3 years living there, where she could be closer to her daughter Carol.
Lorna is predeceased by her husband, Ridley, in 2004, her son, Gregory, in 2014 and her daughter, Carol, in 2015 along with her parents, Phyllis and William (Bill) Glen.
If desired, donations in Lorna’s memory could be given Cancer or Mental health thru the Calgary Health Trust.