Lila ARLENE (Westell) Stewart MacQueen (1928-2020)

Arlene (Westell) Stewart MacQueen (1928-2020)

Arlene Westell, the great-great-granddaughter of John Culbert and Mary Ward grew up in the Kincardine Lighthouse where her father was the lighthouse keeper.

The Kincardine Lighthouse

 

Lila Arlene Westell was born 12 January 1928 in Kincardine, Ontario, Canada. Her parents were Oran Westell (1891-1955) and Jane Russell aka Jenny (1891-1982). Arlene's older siblings were John "Jack" Russell Westell (1920-2013) and Susan "Toots" (Westell) Jarrell (1923-2013).

The Westell Family of Kincardine. Left to right: Parents Jenny (Russell) Westell & Oran Westell with their children, Jack, Susan "Toots" and Arlene in front.

The Westell Family: Left to right: Susan "Toots", father Oran, Arlene, Jack, and mother Jenny.

The Westell siblings. Left to right: Jack, Susan "Toots" and Arlene.

The Westell siblings in the 1940s. Left to right: Jack, Susan "Toots" and Arlene. Photo colourized by Jack's son, Ian Westell.

Arlene's nephew, Don Jarrell recalls how Arlene got the nickname, "Wa."  He said that "as a young girl, Arlene had difficulty saying her own name, and called herself "Wa" or "Wa Wa Waikell" - the name stuck, and she retained the nickname "Wa" since those days.

Young Arlene Westell.

Arlene Westell in Kincardine. The house in the background belonged to Myron Bert Hall aka Marnie Hall and his wife, Evelyn (Harvey) Hall. The Hall's house was located beside the Kincardine Lighthouse where Arlene lived. Myron Bert Hall (1886-1970) was the great-grandson of our ancestors, John Culbert & Mary Ward. Myron Hall was the 1st cousin of Arlene's father, Oran Westell. Arlene's brother, Jack Westell would much later take ownership of the Hall house.

After high school, Arlene worked at the local drug store in Kincardine. 

20-year-old Arlene married 31-year-old Hector Raymond "Ray" Stewart on 7 January 1949 in Kincardine. Ray was from Wood Islands, a small farming and fishing community in Prince Edward Island.

Ray Stewart and Arlene Westell on their wedding day in Kincardine.

The happy couple.

Arlene and Ray's wedding party.

Arlene and Ray moved to British Columbia where she developed a love of skiing and the outdoors. They moved to various locations in B.C., depending on where Ray's construction job took him but they eventually settled in Kelowna. 

In British Columbia, they raised three sons: Raymond Oran Stewart (1952-2020), David Russell Stewart (1956-1978), and their youngest son, Douglas Alexander Stewart. 

Arlene and her son, Raymond Oran Stewart (19 Feb 1952 - 20 Feb 2020) of Burlington, Ontario. Ray was an avid motorcyclist, skiier, sky diver, and scuba diver.

Arlene's son, Raymond Oran Stewart He was a renowned technical scuba diver with over 100 dives on the RMS Empress of Ireland and the remains of the German submarine, U853.

Arlene's husband, Hector Raymond "Ray" Stewart (born 1 January 1918) died of a heart attack on 11 February 1968 in Kelowna, British Columbia, age 50.

After her husband died, Arlene and her sons moved back to her hometown, Kincardine, Ontario, and she returned to her old job at the drug store.

On 21 September 1974, Arlene married Donald Murchison MacQueen (born 28 May 1918 in Prince Edward Island.)

Arlene and her second husband, Don MacQueen on their wedding day.

In 1977, Arlene, Don, and her three sons moved to Prince Edward Island. Don MacQueen died 20 years later in 1997.

Arlene died 21 September 2020, age 92 at Kings County Memorial Hospital in Montague, Prince Edward Island.

Arlene’s obituary says that she loved music, theatre and travel; she had a special love for Ireland and blessed her children and grandchildren with memories of Irish lullabies. Her desire for adventure and to remain active brought her to swimming, yoga, tai-chi, white-water kayaking and jet-skiing into her 90s. She loved animals of all kinds and loved retelling her memorable moment with the law when she was pulled over for speeding on her way to deliver puppies.

Arlene's philosophy of life was "Keep busy. Don't sit and twiddle your thumbs." Her thoughts on the COVID-19 pandemic? "Soon, we'll all get back to normal ... whatever that is."

Arlene in her later years.

Further reading: To read about Arlene's father, Oran Westell, click here, her brother, Jack Westell, click here, and for her sister, Susan "Toots" (Westell) Jarrell, click here. To read an article about Arlene and her friend, Dora MacKenzie, click here.

Arlene (Westell) Stewart MacQueen's Family Tree:

Ancestors:

John Culbert & Mary Ward (2xgreat-grandparents)
Elizabeth "Eliza" Culbert & Richard Dagg (great-grandparents)
Susan Dagg & Omar Westell (grandparents)
Oran Westell & Jane Russell (parents)

Descendants (Children):

Raymond Oran Stewart (1952-2020)

David Russell Stewart (1956-1978)

Douglas Alexander Stewart 

Note: Photos of Arlene and her family courtesy of her nephews, Don Jarrell (son of Susan "Toots" (Westell) Jarrell) and Ian Westell (son of John Russell "Jack" Westell).