Obituary
After a long and full life, Dorothy Ellen (Thompson) Crealock passed away
peacefully on August 26, 2022, after a short stay at Lion’s Prairie Manor in
Portage la Prairie, Manitoba. This was just a few weeks short of her 96th
birthday.
She was predeceased by her husband, Stanley Arthur Earl Crealock
(2000), her parents, Ellen (1978) and Lachlan Thompson (1965), her brothers
Kenneth (1970), Alex (1964), and Donald (2001), as well as her son-in-law Mike
Leslie (2022), brothers-in-law Noble Graham (1990) and Bob Moore (2011), all
of Stan’s siblings and their spouses, and several nieces and nephews.
Dorothy leaves to cherish her memory, her son Don Crealock, her daughter
Erin Crealock, her son Wes Crealock and his wife, Sarah McEwen, as well as
her grandchildren, Brenwyn Leslie, Rhiannon Leslie, Duke Crealock, and Rory
Crealock, and her sisters, Jean Moore and Lorna Graham, and her brother
Dave Thompson and his wife Doreen. Dorothy had many nieces, nephews,
and great nieces and nephews who will remember her fondly. Special thanks
go out to Stan’s great-niece, Linda Green, whose conversation and company
helped Dorothy to transition from home, to the hospital to the care home.
Dorothy Ellen Thompson was born on September 18, 1926, at Hartney,
Manitoba. She was the eldest child of seven born to Ellen (Greig) and Lachlan
Thompson. She started school in Hartney, but the family moved to the
Cadurcis district near Basswood in 1934, where Dorothy continued in grade
one at McBride School and went on to finish her early schooling. Her cousin,
May Northam, was one of her classmates and also a best friend. While living
on her parents’ farm, Dorothy attended church and Sunday School at
Cadurcis. Every summer, there was a Sunday School picnic, and often there
were ball games on summer evenings. Young People’s Club meetings were
held regularly during the winters. Subsequently, Dorothy attended Basswood
Consolidated School for grades ten and eleven. It was a mile-long walk to
meet the school “van”, which was a car in summer and a horse-drawn covered
sleigh in winter.
In 1945, Dorothy completed Grade twelve at Minnedosa Collegiate. That year,
she boarded with Mary Pargenter and her two children, while Mary’s husband
was away in the armed forces. Following a six-week “Short course for Permit
Teachers” at United College, which is now the University of Winnipeg, Dorothy
taught at Ingelow School south of Brookdale, Manitoba from 1945 to 1946. The
following year, she attended Normal School in the Tuxedo area of Winnipeg.
Originally this building was the Manitoba School for the Deaf, but it was taken
over by the armed forces in 1939. It became the Manitoba Normal School in
1946. Upon her graduation from Normal School in 1947, Dorothy taught
grades one to eight at Image Creek School until 1949 and then at Portage
Creek School in the 1949-50 school year.
While teaching at Portage Creek, Dorothy met Stanley Arthur Earl Crealock at a
benefit dance for a farm family who had lost property due to a fire. On October
21, 1950, Dorothy and Stan Crealock were married in Minnedosa and moved to
Flin Flon, Manitoba. Stan worked underground with the repair crew there. In
April of 1952, the family farm became Stan’s, so they sold their house in Flin
Flon and continued farming east of Bagot, Manitoba. Dorothy spent the
following year teaching at Elsmith, the closest one-room school to Langerton
Farm, which was homesteaded in 1886 by the Crealock family. It was at this
farm that Dorothy and Stan raised their own family of three, comprised of Don,
Erin, and Wes. Before Wes was born, Dorothy taught at Oakland School from
1964 to 1965.
Kindergarten classes were set to be offered for the first time in schools in
Portage in the fall of 1969, so Dorothy took a summer course that year in
Winnipeg to prepare her for another chapter of her teaching career. Her first
Kindergarten classes were at North Ward School. The following school year,
she moved to Victoria School and remained there to teach Kindergarten for the
next twenty-one years. Dorothy taught two generations of some Victoria
School Kindergarten students before she retired in June of 1991.
In the spring of 1992, Dorothy and Stan’s sister, Marj Brown flew to Tokyo,
Japan where they spent three action-packed weeks with her daughter, Erin,
and son-in-law, Mike, sightseeing and experiencing a fascinating culture. This
was Dorothy’s first ever airplane journey.
In the years that followed, she was involved in the Edwin UCW and for a longer
time, the Portage Seniors’ Choir. In the spring of 1999, Stan’s health was the
reason for a move to the city of Portage la Prairie. They lived for a time in an
apartment in Number One Broadway, but Dorothy moved to Woodlands Walk
after Stan passed away in January of 2000. There, Dorothy enjoyed her lake
view suite and was frequently spotted walking the pathway along Crescent
Lake or stopping to sit on a bench to reflect on nature and the wildlife that
calls the lake home. In addition, Dorothy enjoyed the potluck gatherings with
her Woodlands walk neighbours.
In 2002, Dorothy again boarded a flight, this time for Playa Del Carmen in
Mexico to attend Wes and Sarah’s wedding. As the grandchildren began to
arrive, Dorothy travelled to Edmonton, Calgary, Salt Spring Island, and
Victoria. She spent more time at Langerton Farm again when the
grandchildren came to visit. She shared stories, games, baking, and lessons
about nature with these visitors through her unlimited patience and trademark
practical wisdom. People of all ages enjoyed conversing with Dorothy and
came away with nuggets of this practical wisdom to help them through life’s
challenges.
Throughout her teaching years, and right to the end, Dorothy had a sharp mind
that recalled the names, faces, and specific details about the students she
taught over the years. She enjoyed following current events and politics,
reading local histories, listening to old-time music, and doing complicated
word puzzles. Mere word searches or basic crossword puzzles did not interest
Dorothy.
Dorothy’s family would like to express their gratitude to the staff at the Portage
General Hospital, her homecare team, and the staff at the Lion’s Prairie Manor
who all clearly enjoyed Dorothy’s dry wit, clarity of mind, and keen sense of
humour.
A celebration of Dorothy’s life will be held on Saturday, October 1, 2022
from 2:00 to 4:00 pm at McKenzie’s Portage Funeral Chapel.
If so desired, a donation in Dorothy’s name to a charity of one’s choice may be made in lieu of
flowers.
A tree will be planted and cared for by McKenzies Portage Funeral Chapel. www.mckenziesportagefuneralchapel.com
To send flowers
to the family or plant a tree
in memory of Dorothy Ellen (Thompson) Crealock, please visit our floral store.
Nos plus sincères sympathies à la famille et aux amis de Dorothy Ellen Thompson Crealock September 18 1926 August 26 2022 (age 95)..
mckenzies portage funeral chapel
Décès pour la Ville: Portage-la-Prairie, Province: Manitoba