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Edith Penelhum
August 13, 1922 - April 16, 2016
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<div itemprop="description">PENELHUM, Edith (nee Andrews)<br />1922 - 2016<br /><br />Edith was born in Coventry on August 13, 1922. She attended Stoke Park Girls School, which she loved, but was then placed, first at a bank and then more successfully in a secretarial position at a munitions factory. In spite of her family&rsquo;s Methodist background, she became an Anglican and a dedicated member of the youth groups at the Cathedral. During the famous Coventry Blitz she was an Air Raid Messenger, able in spite of her short stature to pass on orders and instructions to far larger persons. When, in 1945, persons in reserved occupations were permitted to volunteer for the Armed Forces, she joined the WRNS. During a leave she visited Edinburgh, which captivated her, and on demobilization she became a student at Edinburgh University. <br /><br />That same year fellow student Terry, also English and studying in Scotland, met and fell in love with her. Their subsequent life together took them first to Oxford, where she joined him for the second year of his graduate study, and then to Yale where she taught in a private girls school. When he accepted an offer of a position in Alberta, she wept at leaving the UK but accompanied him to Edmonton, where they resided for 10 years. While he taught philosophy, she took special training in English as a second language, and became an expert in conversational English and in the use of the language laboratory. <br /><br />She took these skills with her when they moved to Calgary in 1963, and many of her students found themselves able to be understood in conversation with members of their own profession for the first time and many became her friends. <br /><br />Edith never did things half- heartedly. She won many exhibition prizes for her hybrid tea roses, and was very successful at painting and decoupage. She and Terry travelled widely to Europe, Japan, and Brazil, and their home has been filled with signs of their travels. Their marriage was celebrated the day after Terry&rsquo;s graduation in 1950, so their life together spanned almost 70 years. They have recently been members of St. Barnabas Anglican Church, where Edith purchased a substantial supply of new copies of the Book of Common Prayer for the parish. <br /><br />Edith and Terry have an adopted daughter Lorraine Facey (Roger), a grandson Jamie Bailey (Lynn), and two great-grandchildren Jack and Zoe, who all reside in Nova Scotia; and a daughter Rosemary Claire Sargent (Gary). They also had a son Andrew, who died tragically and accidentally in 1975. Edith leaves nephews Alan, Gerald, and Jim, and nieces Daphne and Barbara, and their extended families, as well as many friends who will miss her greatly. <br /><br />Edith&rsquo;s death was due to congestive heart failure and pulmonary edema. She was admitted to the Foothills Hospital on April 5, 2016. Unfortunately the available treatments were not sufficient to prevent this tragic outcome. We wish to thank the medical, nursing and other caring staff of Unit 82 for their expert and compassionate care.<br /><br />Funeral Service will be held on Friday, April 22, 2016 at St. Barnabas Anglican Church (1407 - 7th Ave NW) at 1:00 p.m. Interment to follow at Queen&rsquo;s Park Cemetery (3219 - 4th Street NW). <br /><br />In lieu of flowers, Edith would be pleased with contributions in her name to Birthright Calgary, 1419 17 Ave SW, Calgary AB T2T 0C6, or to Community Kitchen Program of Calgary, 3751 - 21 St NE Calgary, T2E 6T5, www.ckpcalgary.ca.</div>