It is with sadness that we announce the passing of Donna Gaylene Shauer. She left this world Nov 16th 2014 at the Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital, Trail, BC, after a short and brave battle with cancer. Donna was born March 20th 1949 in Vancouver and is predeceased by her parents Dorothy and Ernie Shauer and her sister Leslie Shauer.
Although she has lived many places in BC, for the past 40 years Castlegar has been her home and was where she lived, laughed and loved.
In 1984 at the age of 35 years, she took the brave step of enrolling at Selkirk College in Castlegar, studying Desktop Publishing and in 1986 she made the Dean’s List for Academic Excellence. She worked at a several businesses in the area and eventually started her own business called ‘Graphic Solutions’. Customers came for her unique and artistic style of making their business look special through the likes of newspaper ads, brochures and newsletters. Her artistic style contributed to her winning many business awards over the years. She also used those same talents to give back to her community. Some of the most rewarding times for her were the many years spent working with the Castlegar ‘Sunfest’ Society. She volunteered with the Castlegar Food Bank and was a happy, tireless worker when it came to helping out at the StoneSoup Kitchen. Having come from a large family, she took this work on quite naturally.
Her passion for landscaping and gardening was apparent to anyone who saw her yard.
Her camera was always handy, ready to capture her children, grandchildren and the Kootenay landscape. Her love of all forms of art dominated her being.
Donna leaves behind three sons. Daniel Scott; Glenn Scott (Joanna) of Calgary and grandsons Ethan and Jacob; Matt Scott (Christine) and granddaughter Claire of Abbotsford, BC.
Donna’s siblings, Mike Shauer of Hope, BC ; April (John) Wilding of Hope, BC; Ruth Robbie (Jeffray) of New Westminister, BC and Billie (Ernest) Bessette of Hope, BC and many nieces and nephews, as well as her good friends Brian, Dick, Marilyn and Melody.
A Family Remembrance Gathering for Donna took place in Hope, BC on Sat November 22, 2014. Donna’s sister Billie, a potter, made the clay urn that holds her ashes. In the Spring of 2015, Donna’s final resting place will be the Balfour Cemetery, Balfour, BC, beside many of her family.
If you wish to make a donation in her name, kindly direct it to The StoneSoup Committee/Harvest Food Bank, c/o R. Manarin, 1360 McPhee Rd, Castlegar,
BC, V1N 4L9