Our beloved wife, mother, daughter, sister, grandmother and friend, Glenys Schorn, passed away Monday, November 21st, after a courageous battle with cancer. She passed away peacefully, surrounded by family and so much love from around the world.
Glenys was born in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, to Jeanne and Glen John, followed by her brother Mike and sister Susan. She attended Holy Family Convent school, where she played field hockey and swam competitively. After graduating, Glenys attended the University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, graduating with a BSc Hons. in Botany. While at University, she met many cherished friends and her husband, Paul. They married 50 years ago, on December 2nd, 1972.
Married life started in the Sugar Estates at Seven Oaks, Jaagbaan, and Port Shepstone. Until the birth of her children, Glenys worked at the Cedara Agricultural Collage as a soil science technician and Pioneer Hi-Bred undertaking corn breeding trials. In 1975, before starting a family, Glenys and Paul set off on a three-month tour of Europe. This experience produced many memorable adventures, lifelong friends, and a love for travel.
Soon after, they welcomed their daughter, Karen and their son, Robert. With two small children in tow, Glenys and Paul uprooted their family to immigrate to Canada in 1981, establishing a new home in London, Ontario. Aged 33, Glenys returned to high school, attending Westminster Secondary School, and completed a final-year Physics course required for her to attend the X-Ray Technologist course at Fanshawe College in London, Ontario. After graduating in 1986 and working full-time, Glenys qualified as an Ultrasound Technologist in 1990. She worked in ultrasound until she retired from EFW Radiology in 2007.
The family moved briefly to Newmarket, Ontario, in 1994 and to Calgary, Alberta, in 1995. Calgary provided new opportunities for adventure, including hiking, backpacking and camping in the Canadian Rockies and desert areas in the Southwestern United States. Living close to the Rockies and its fabulous ski resorts, Glenys continued to improve and became a confident downhill skier. She loved to go fast and be one of the first to carve a trail down a groomed run. Glenys also started running while living in Calgary, an activity she continued for many years, completing several five and ten-kilometre charity runs.
Missing longer summers and with a desire to reside in a smaller, more intimate community, Glenys and Paul retired to Vernon, BC, in 2007.
Glenys loved international travel – exploring and experiencing new cultures and, in many cases, travelling with friends and family. With both children studying at University and starting their adult lives, Glenys and Paul travelled to over 64 countries. Unforgettable trips included cruises to Russia and Cape Horn, birding in the Galapagos and trekking in the Himalayas. Over the years, frequent trips back to South Africa allowed Glenys to reconnect to her roots, fondly remember her younger years and remain close to her South African family and friends.
Glenys lived a rich whole life. Whether paddle-boarding on Okanagan Lake or attending Dragon Boat Festivals as a founder member of the Silver Dips Dragon Boat Team from Vernon, she embraced an unwavering zest for life and adventure. Over the past years, she was never happier than when surrounded by family and friends. Friends and family were more important to her than anything. She especially treasured time spent with her two precious grandsons. She was an expressive communicator and an outstanding networker, maintaining connections with family and friends worldwide. She had extended family spread across the globe whom she loved very much and who loved her dearly.
Glenys was extroverted with an exquisite sense of humour. She embraced life and made everyone feel welcome and happy to be a part of her life. We will miss her vitality, spirit, zest for life and positivity.
Glenys is lovingly remembered by her husband of 50 years, Paul; her daughter, Karen, and her husband, Ryan; her son, Robert, his wife, Laura; and their children, Glenys’ grandsons, Ian and Kevin; her mother, Jeanne; her brother Michael and his wife Ruth; her sister Sue and her husband Geoff; and also by her aunts, uncles, nephews, nieces, and friends worldwide.
Thank you for being her friend.
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Celebration of Life
Friends are invited to say a final goodbye to Glenys at Predator Ridge Resort in Vernon on Sunday, January 15th, starting at 1 pm. The event will be held in the ballroom on the Clubhouse’s lower level.
An informal open house in Calgary is planned for Saturday, January 21st. Please join us anytime between 1-4 pm.
RSVP
Vernon Celebration of Life at glenys-schorn-vernon.eventbrite.com
Calgary Open House at glenys-schorn-calgary.eventbrite.com
Instead of flowers, the family requests that memorial donations be made in Glenys’s name to the Archway Society for Domestic Peace in Vernon or your local SPCA Humane Society.
Archway Society for Domestic Peace (canadahelps.org)
spca.bc.ca/donations/vernon/
November 21st 2022
Our most sincere sympathies to the family and friends of Glenys Lynn Schorn Nee John November 21st 2022..
Death notice for the town of: Vernon, Province: Colombie britanique