Obituary
It is with much regret and the utmost of sorrow that we announce the passing of Charlene Mae Parker (Nee Tredwin) on September 12, 2022, in Edson, Alberta at the age of 58.
Charlene will be forever remembered by her husband Randy, her children Calvin (Kelsey), Keanna (Tom), two sisters Lynda Cannady (Steve), Fern Foreman (Grahame) one brother Neil Tredwin (Diane). She was predeceased by her parents Vince and Jeanne Tredwin, two sisters, Vinia Taylor (Frank) and Louise Smith.
Char was a sweet, kind and generous lady, who, in collaboration with her sister Fern, founded the Edson Run of Hope for breast cancer after the passing of their sister Vinia in 2001.
Char was a mountain girl, born and raised just down the road, in Hinton Alberta and attended Red Deer College after graduation.
Char and Randy met at Red Deer college and were married in 1986. They started their life together in Lacombe, Alberta where Char worked for Novacor Chemicals at the nearby Joffre complex.
They moved to Medicine Hat in 1987 where Char continued to work for Novacor Chemicals at their methanol facility. Calvin was born in 1993 and the 3 of them moved to Whitecourt so Randy could advance his career and Char would stay home with the baby. In 1995 Calvin got a baby sister, Keanna.
As if looking after two babies wasn’t hard enough, Char decided to start a home-based business and Baskets, Bows and Balloons was formed. The business did ok in Whitecourt, until Randy took a different job in Edson and the family relocated again. Char kept her little business going in Edson and was quite busy at it until the kids got a little older, at which time she started working temporarily at YREC educational consortium. This temporary job eventually led to full time, once the kids were in school. She eventually worked her way from an administration position into a teaching position, where she taught several courses in office career training.
Her skills and experience landed her a job with A major oil and gas producer and with more hard work and experience she was promoted to the position of community affairs liaison where she continued to assist communities with their local needs, be it hospitals, schools’ educational access and awareness, cultural support or what have you. Retiring from this role in 2020 the future looked great, fishing at Slave Lake all summer and travelling south to warmer climates in the winter was the plan….. until her diagnosis of terminal brain cancer in July of 2021.
Char fought hard, knowing the odds were against her, but she continued to do the things she loved, right until her passing.
A Celebration of Life will be held at the Edson Legion Hall on September 28th, 2022, at 1:00pm.
In lieu of floral tributes, people are encouraged to donate to the Edson Run of Hope, Brain Tumor Foundation of Canada, Shandy’s Dream, the Cross Cancer Institute or a charity of your choice.
The family would like to thank Marilyn Oishi, Dr. Robinson, Dr. Smith and the nursing staff at the Edson Hospital for their care of Charlene. You know she loved you all too!
Our most sincere sympathies to the family and friends of Charlene Mae Tredwin Parker May 10 1964 September 12 2022 (age 58)..
Death notice for the town of: Edson, Province: Alberta
My deepest sympathies to Charlene’s family and friends in Edson. I worked with Char for many years at Shell and I know she was so looking forward to her retirement. I was so sad to see that her time had been cut short by cancer. I lost my own mom this year to cancer, so my heart goes out to her children. I had the pleasure of spending a few days volunteering with Char in the community and saw first hand the pride and energy she felt in engaging to benefit so many causes throughout Edson and Fox Creek. My thoughts are with you all at this difficult time.