Frederick, Patricia (Pat) 

Frederick,Patricia (Pat) 

“We grieve with gratitude and hope”

It is with great sadness that we announce that our Mom, Patricia (Pat) Frederick passed away peacefully on May 31, 2025. Although she was 94, her death was sudden, as earlier in the evening you could hear her calling out answers as she watched her favourite shows, Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy. Pat, Mom, Gram, G.G., Mom-a-zita, Momsy were all names she was referred to by her surviving children; Deb (Randy), Dan (Arlene), Paul (Dell), son-in-law Terry and daughter-in-law Cindy, grandchildren; Britt (Anthony), Tori, Michael, Karly (Rob), Kristyn (Carter), Taylor (Sherry), Sam, and Lauren (Kyle), and great grandchildren: (Olivia, Mary, Pia, Gianna, Vita, Mateo, Denai, Maclean, Brooks, Clara, Ted, Audrey, Beau, Atticus, and Lexon). Mom was predeceased by her husband Bill, son Rene, daughter Suzanne, and grandsons Thomas and Ethan, along with her brother Ivan and sister Beatrice in Charlottetown.

Mom was born in Canso, Nova Scotia and although she obtained her BSc degree and RN training at St. Francis Xavier University, in Antigonish, N.S., the west was calling. That call led her to Alberta where she worked in both the Red Deer and Lethbridge hospitals. Her sister lived in Strathmore at the time and during one visit, they stopped in at her husband’s veterinarian office, where Mom happened to meet Bill Frederick, who had come in with a sick ram. After a whirlwind romance, they married in July of 1955. The following years were spent on the family farm north of Strathmore raising cows and kids! To say life was busy on the farm would be an understatement, with five children being born within the span of six years, farming, taking care of livestock, and building an addition onto the family home, which she and Dad had built together. Life on the farm was certainly not easy back then. Her response to that hard life was “You just did it!”

Mom accepted the offer of Public Health Nurse for the County of Wheatland in 1965, which later expanded to the Drumheller Health Unit, and then realized she had to scramble to get a driver’s license! She spent the next 25 years driving around the county doing health clinics, school immunizations, baby clinics, home visits, as well as being one of two people volunteering with the Strathmore & District Ambulance. Mom finally retired in 1990, but then filled her time with many, many volunteer hours with the Strathmore Health Unit, the Hospital Auxiliary Board, the United Church Thrift Sale, and the Strathmore Library. Mom never liked being in the limelight, so when she was honoured in 2007 with the People’s First Award through the Calgary Health Region, in 2010 for 25 years of dedicated volunteering with the Strathmore District Health Services, and again in 2022, for 30 years of dedicated volunteering with the Strathmore Library, she was quick to say she just enjoyed people and liked filling her time. We recently learned that it was because of Mom’s dropping off of library books to those housebound, that the Visiting Library program was developed.

Mom was known for being the ‘Cookie Lady” around town and having her shortbreads for sale at many Christmas craft events. One year she maxed out at making over 1100 dozen of her ‘melt-in-your-mouth’ shortbreads. People would drive out from Calgary with the sole purpose of getting to her table first before she sold out. Mom was also known for her almost daily walks around the lake. Once she got going with that walker, she was hard to keep up with! Mom kept her mind sharp with the daily crossword puzzles in the Calgary Herald. The day did not begin until that crossword was completed and the headlines had been read.

It’s hard to put into words how much Mom will be missed, not only in our hearts, but also in the Strathmore community of which she lived and served for over 60 years. We hope her generosity, compassion, strength, independent spirit, and relentless work ethic will come to mind when people think of Pat Frederick.

A Celebration of Life will be held on Monday, June 9, 2025, at the Hope Community Covenant Church at 2:00 p.m.

 In lieu of flowers and should people wish, donations can be made to the Strathmore Library in person or online. Condolences sent to www.wheatlandfuneralhome.ca