Obituary
Margaret Inez Demuynck (neé Bittner) was born Feb. 24 1930 in Edmonton Alberta, the daughter of Michael and Laura Bittner. The family was of German extraction (Mike had immigrated in the 1920’s) and they, along with her brother Norman, spoke German in the home. They grew up on the family farm north of Thorsby, Alberta (southwest of Edmonton); her parents were pioneers, having cleared the land and built all the buildings. Although cash was short in the Great Depression, Alberta suffered no drought, and so food was always plentiful. She graduated from Thorsby High School and also from Lakeland College in Vermilion, with a diploma in Home Economics. Inez married Jerome Demuynck, who was from a Belgian farming family in nearby Calmar, in 1952. They eventually settled in Leduc, where Jerome worked first at a seed plant, and then as an ice road trucker in the Northwest Territories. Inez worked at the Leduc school board office until their only son Charles was born in 1968. By that time she had started studying and developing her artistic vocation, which she had begun in high school. She studied in many different media at the University of Alberta and the Banff School of Fine Arts, where she was a certified graduate. Her work was displayed in the Vancouver Art Gallery, Edmonton Art Gallery, won numerous prizes, she had many solo exhibitions in galleries in Dawson Creek, Grande Prairie, Fort St. John, and several others. She sold hundreds of paintings (mostly watercolours) and pots over the years, most of which are still in private collections in Western Canada. She taught courses at the University of Alberta, Northern Lights College, and schools in Dawson Creek, as well as serving several terms as President of the South Peace Art Society and Peace Watercolour Society.
Inez and Jerome divorced in 1984 and she later had a long-term relationship with Ric Zachary. She continued to live and work in Dawson Creek until moving to the Queens Avenue Retirement Residence in Oakville Ontario in 2012, to be near her son Charles. She passed away peacefully on June 6, 2022, after a short decline. She is survived by Charles and his wife Silke Lambert, as well as her nephews Wilfred, David and Dwight Bittner, and a great nephew. She was an artistic soul whose many creations bought joy to very many people.
Speaking about Art, Inez said: “I feel that art is as sophisticated and delicate as nature itself, and involves all aspects of our culture, from a dinner party to the sleekest jet. It may impart a unity in existence.”
February 24 1930 June 6 2022
Nos plus sincères sympathies à la famille et aux amis de Inez Demuynck February 24 1930 June 6 2022..
Kopriva Taylor Community Funeral Home
Décès pour la Ville:Oakville, Province: Ontario