100 years ago on 27 Jul 1921, Ferelith Culbert was born. She was the great-granddaughter of John Culbert and Mary Ward. Ferelith's children have written a tribute to their mother but first, I'll begin with an introduction:
Ferelith Culbert (known as "Foo" to her family and friends) was born 27 July 1921 in Boissevain, Manitoba, Canada. Boissevain is located near the North Dakota border.
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| Ferelith Culbert's parents: Jean Campbell and Arthur Culbert. 50th wedding anniversary, July 1957. |
Arthur Culbert (1882-1978) was the son of Richard Culbert and Jane Eleanor Fairhall of Biddulph Township near Lucan, Ontario. When he was a young man, Arthur Culbert left the family home known as Poplar Farm and moved to Manitoba. Arthur's grandfather, Frederick Fairhall had moved from Ontario to Manitoba a year before Arthur was born. Arthur's grandfather Fairhall had 14 children so Arthur had many relatives in Manitoba.
Ferelith Culbert was the sixth and last child of Arthur Culbert and Jean Campbell. Ferelith's siblings were Jean Elsie (Culbert) McLeod (1908-1975); Frederick Campbell Culbert (1910-1943); Milton Alexander Culbert (1912-1990); Eleanor Ruth (Culbert) Thompson (1915-1984); and Lloyd Douglas Arthur Culbert (1919-2001).
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| Ferelith (Culbert) Shiach with her siblings and her parents. Left to right: sister Ruth (Culbert) Thompson; brother Douglas Culbert; Ferelith (Culbert) Shiach; mother Jean (Campbell) Culbert; father Arthur Culbert; sister Jean (Culbert) McLeod, and brother Milton Alexander Culbert. Missing from the photo is Ferelith's brother, Flying Officer Frederick Campbell Culbert who was killed in action during World War Two. July 1957. |
A TRIBUTE TO FERELITH (CULBERT) SHIACH
Written by her three children: Robert Spence Shiach, Donald Frederick Shiach, and Cathryn Bel "Cathy" (Shiach) Feir.
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| Ferelith Culbert, date unknown. |
She came to Winnipeg with her parents in 1935 and graduated from Gordon Bell High School. She took a Comptometer course (her brother Fred paid for) and was employed at Swift Canadian. It was there she met James Spence Shiach (1918-2015) and their courtship began.
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| Ferelith Culbert and Spence Shiach in 1941 during their courting days at the PALA camp (Presbyterian Literary and Athletic Association) in Minaki, Ontario. |
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| Winnipeg, Manitoba to Minaki, Ontario. The journey probably took longer back in the 1940s. |
They loved to dance! They were married on May 20, 1943. They were briefly parted during the war in which Spence was a Pilot Officer with the Coastal Command. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.
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| Ferelith Culbert and Spence Shiach on their wedding day, 20 May 1943 in Winnipeg. |
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| Wedding announcement in the 27 May 1943 edition of the Winnipeg Tribune. |
Ferelith and Spence's first child, Robert Spence Shiach was born on March 25, 1949. Their first house was in St. Boniface before purchasing their dream and forever home in the Riverview area of Winnipeg in May 1949. They were forced to move out temporarily due to the 1950 Flood which flooded the brand-new home a foot over the main floor.
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| Ferelith (Culbert) Shiach in a rowboat in the middle of her flooded street, Baltimore Road in Winnipeg. A state of emergency was declared. The Canadian Army and Red Cross
were brought in to help protect residents and property and help with
evacuations. At that time, 1950, it was the largest mass evacuation in Canadian history. |
Their second child, Donald Frederick Shiach was born on May 5, 1951 and their third child, Cathryn Bel Shiach was born on July 17, 1955.
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| The Spence Shiach-Ferelith Culbert family in front of their house at 110 Baltimore Road in Winnipeg. |
Family and community were an important part of their lives. They loved to entertain and enjoyed many activities together and separately. Curling and golf were always top of the list. Foo was a Past President and Honorary Life Member of the Fort Rouge Ladies Curling Club. She played both competitively and socially for many years. She belonged to the Elmhurst Golf and Country Club for 23 years. She enjoyed her Ladies Bridge Group and was also involved with the Riverview Community Centre and Riverview United Church.
Family holidays were always exciting. We would go camping to various relatives both east and west. We rented a cottage for many years at Minaki, Ontario. Foo and Spence also purchased a motor home and travelled all around, golfing. They also travelled overseas visiting family in Scotland.
Mom was always the life of the party and her smile and laughter filled the room. She loved to sing and dance and was very sociable. Our family celebrations were lots of fun. Birthdays, weddings and anniversaries were all very special events.
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| Spence and Ferelith's 50th wedding anniversary in 1993. |
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| Spence and Ferelith celebrating her 80th birthday in July, 2001. |
She was a wonderful cook and Sunday dinners with roast beef and Yorkshire pudding with grandparents and relatives were so yummy. Her other specialties were Melting Moments cookies, grilled cheese sandwiches and lots of different pies.
She was blessed with 5 granddaughters and 1 grandson. She took pride in each one following their many activities such as soccer, skating, hockey, recitals and curling. She would have sleepovers and was always a supportive Mom and Nana. She was amazing!
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| Ferelith made albums for her grandchildren, October, 2001. |
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| Ferelith's six grandchildren, 2007. |
Both Mom and Dad were wonderful role models as parents and grandparents!!
Unfortunately, like her father, Ferelith suffered from dementia and Alzheimer’s and her laughter was silenced. When she was unable to stay at home, Spence visited with her every day. They celebrated 67 Wedding Anniversaries. She passed away peacefully June 21, 2009 at Riverview Health Centre in Winnipeg, age 87.
FERELITH (CULBERT) SHIACH'S FAMILY TREE:
Ancestors:
John Culbert & Mary Ward (great-grandparents)
Richard Culbert & Jane Eleanor Fairhall (grandparents)
George Arthur Culbert & Jean McLeod Campbell (parents)
Descendants (Children):
Robert Spence Shiach
Donald Frederick Shiach
Cathryn Bel (Shiach) Feir
