Obituary for
Muriel «Mert» Orvetta Shapka (Clapp)
Family matriarch, competitive athlete, coach, and school teacher, Muriel Shapka’s love of life was boundless. She was a woman ahead of her time in so many areas of life. Mert Shapka departed her final game in this life on April 18, 2022 at the age of 91 after a peaceful decline with dementia. She will now coach her friends and loved ones from above, and they will honor her legacy by living and loving this sport of life to the fullest. Mert was a loving and dedicated mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, and her spirit lives on through her large extended family and community of friends.
Mert loved everything sport related, both as participant and spectator. She achieved countless athletic awards and was inducted into the University of Alberta Sports Wall of Fame. Mert was in her element on the gym floor, court or field as a competitor or with her athletes and students. She shared her passion for athletics with thousands of female junior and senior high school students and athletes over her 34 years of continuous teaching and coaching.
Mert was also tremendously social and revelled in gathering and visiting with any of her large circle of friends and family. If she had just one other person to have tea with she was happy because that made it “a party”. She found joy in her love of people and their life stories. Beyond her pursuits in sports, Mert approached all her activities with a zest and enthusiasm that was contagious to those around her and is encapsulated by common “Mert-isms” such as: (1) “If it’s physical I’ll do it”, (2) “if you can’t do it, fake it”, and (3) “if it isn’t fun, don’t do it”.
Mert was born on a homestead near Mayerthorpe, Alberta to Elora and Arnold James Clapp on 18th of June 1930. Her family lived in a drafty log cabin, and Mert and her siblings spent much of her time playing in the forest and with the many animals the family adopted. Following high school in Ponoka, Alberta, she went on to earn a Bachelor of Education in 1953 at University of Alberta and competed on the swim, basketball and tennis teams, earning a Block “A” major athletic award. She married William “Bill” Shapka in 1954 and lived on a farm near Bellis, Alberta for 3 years before moving to Edmonton. They spent 28 years together in marriage, and then were good friends in the last five years of Bill’s life. In 1968, Mert earned a Masters of Science from the University of California Los Angeles, joined by Bill and their five children at the time ! She worked as a teacher for the Edmonton Public School Board for 34 years, teaching at High Schools Eastglen, Queen E, Victoria, M.E. LaZerte, McNally, W.P. Wagner, and Richie Jr. High. In her retirement, Mert was an avid curler and competed for the Edmonton Marigolds and in the Alberta 55 Plus provincial games in curling and many other sports including cycling, tennis, and swimming. Mert also enjoyed her “hobby” of real estate investing, property management and had great fun doing many such deals. Later in life, Mert completed her memoirs, a series of engaging and entertaining stories of her life compiled as an e-book entitled “Her Story and More”.
Mert will be lovingly remembered by her brother, Ken (Patricia), her children, Maury, Lenore (Dave), Wynne (Richard), Diane, Roger (Yili) and Roni-lil (Clayton); her grandchildren, Kelsey, Corey, Adam, Cydney (Cody), Brittney (Matthew), Alexis, Dani (James), Tia, Zoelle (age 15)
and her great grandchildren, Lyla (11), Molly (8), Rhett (5), Dierk (3), Olive (2) and Willow (3). Mert is predeceased by her beloved parents, Edith Emma Elora (nee Beach) and James Arnold Clapp; grandparents, Emmerencienne (nee Castonguay) and James Sidney Beach; paternal grandmother, Annie Marie Etta Dies-Clapp; grandfather, W. G. Clapp; siblings, Lillian (Bill), Stan (Doreen) and her grandchild, Emmett Apps.
A Celebration of Life will be held on May 1, 2022 at 10 a.m. at Park Memorial Funeral Home, 9709-111 Avenue, Edmonton, AB. To honor Mert’s love and enthusiasm for life, sports and living life to the fullest, please think about the wonderful memories you have of Mert and consider sharing with others.
Inurnment will take place at Mount Pleasant Estates.
Memorial donations in lieu of flowers will be gratefully accepted by Alberta 55 plus Provincial Games members.alberta55plus.ca/Donate OR University of Alberta Sports Wall of Fame.
ualberta.alumniq.com/giving/to/
To view a livestream of the Celebration of Life please visit www.parkmemorial.com and select “Webcasting” from Muriel Shapka’s Book of Memories.
Nos plus sincères sympathies à la famille et aux amis de Muriel Mert Orvetta
Shapka Clapp 2022..
Décès pour la Ville: Mayerthorpe, Province: Alberta