LAC LA BICHE - Wardene Whitford’s influence continues this Remembrance Day in Lac La Biche, even though the long-serving community supporter died earlier this year.
Whitford was 96 when she passed away peacefully on Aug. 14, leaving a lasting legacy through family and community support.
Among many of her roles within the community, Whitford was a passionate supporter of the Royal Canadian Legion. She was a founding member of the Legion Ladies Auxiliary at Lac La Biche’s McGrane Branch 28, served as the Poppy Fund chairperson for decades, and was the veteran services officer. Whitford also helped to identify the grave sites of veterans in local cemeteries and co-founded the local program to highlight those grave sites with Canada flags before each Remembrance Day event.
Dozens of Canadian flags were planted earlier this week by a dedicated group of local volunteers and young 4-H members, continuing a tradition she held dear.
“Wardene had been a long-time fixture at the Legion, and she is certainly missed,” McGrane Branch 28 President Danny Stevens told Lakeland This Week in the days leading up to Remembrance Day. “Last weekend the Legion in conjunction with the Local 4H club planted new flags at the Graves of veterans at the local cemetery, an initiative started by Wardene many years ago and which she participated in faithfully.”
Whitford, and her husband Roy, who was a World War 2 veteran, were Royal Canadian Legion Life Members. Until his death in 2005, Roy had attended 52 consecutive Remembrance Day services in Lac La Biche, with Wardene by his side.
In her own words, from a biography she wrote before her passing, Wardene described a challenging childhood with an education that came less from classrooms and more from hard work. Wardene was born in Iowa and moved with her family to Canada when she was 6. They lived on a farm in Topland, north of Barrhead, then moved to Edmonton, and when she was 11, they moved to Brierville near Rich Lake. Wardene didn’t stay in school past Grade 6 and moved away from home at 15 to find work. She worked in small shops and on farms. She worked in ‘the lard room’ for 20 cents an hour at Canada Packers in Edmonton during the Second World War and was a waitress at an Air Force training centre. She was a cook and caregiver.
When the war ended, she married Roy in 1946. Wardene and Roy had their first child, Sharon in 1947. Their son was born in 1948.
Roy drove a local water truck and Wardene cooked at the York Hotel and Almac Café for 25 cents an hour. The two raised their family with love and an emphasis on community service.
Roy was a volunteer fireman for 23 years and the two volunteered at the annual Pow Wow Days events for decades, all while continuing the commitment to the local Legion and its members.
The couple were proclaimed as Lac La Biche Citizens of the Year in 1996.
The volunteer work is something Wardene and Roy instilled in their growing family.
“Delmar and Sharon volunteered when they were here, then our grandkids and great grandkids when they were here,” Wardene wrote in her biography.
Sharon recalls fondly her parents’ dedication to the Legion, and her mom’s passion for Remembrance Day.
“I believe Mom lived for Remembrance Day,” Sharon told Lakeland This Week. “I recall for all my years at home that Remembrance Day was to be observed by the whole family.”
It’s a family tradition that continues.
When Wardene passed away, she had six grandchildren, eight great-grandchildren and was a great-great grandmother to two.
Asked by staff at the Lac La Biche POST newsroom if it was OK to write a retrospect of her mom’s life that wouldn’t be published until months after her passing, but would coincide with Remembrance Day, Sharon approved.
“Yes, that is the perfect time to publish a tribute,” she said.
