Obituary of Darlene Buchamer

Obituary It is with great sadness we announce the passing of Darlene Buchamer who passed May 15, 2018 at 68 years of age. Darlene Luella Buchamers mother and father immigrated from Germany during the war and mom became the youngest of 4 siblings born in Canada. She was born in Errington Ontario and soon after her family moved to Thunder Bay where they would grow up. Mom was brought up with traditional values and learnt to cook, sew, crochet and a great many other things. She developed an affection for animals at a young age and spent down time camping, fishing and making pottery with her father. Her schooling took her into a career in medicine where she worked at an institute for the mentally insecure youth and later as a care aid in a senior's home. Mom grew tremendously close to her nieces Flo, Edna, Phyllis and Lorraine. After their own mother became ill she did not hesitate to make herself available as a shoulder to cry on, a sounding board or the cool aunt who liked to have a little fun at the lake. Mom often spoke with great fondness of the memorable times had with the Mitchell sisters and her niece Dolores. As time went on Mom switched careers and developed a fondness for cooking which would become her career for more than 30 years. In her early thirties mom moved from Ontario with her sister Marion to the FSJ area. Not long after their arrival mom and dad united to start their family. For us kids some of our most memorable times with mom were shared teaching us how to bake; churn cheese and butter; smoke meats and can garden goodies. How she could grow such plentiful gardens in a clay pit, with next to no water some years, we will never know! Nurturing our interests in wood working, drawing, sewing and jewelry making. Or putting her own crafty skills to use making yarn octopus and knitted clowns for gifts or sewing us those snazzy red plaid checker pants and skirt when the money was tight. Many nights were spent playing games including Nintendo's Mario Bros. Us kids would chuckle as she raised her controller higher each time she went to make Mario jump. As mom's health began to worsen through the past few years she reminisced of her children's accomplishments, the birth of her five grandchildren which brought her great joy and sadly of strained relations. In her final days as we played cribbage in the hospital she wished that all her children know that she loved them no matter what had last been said. She encouraged us to be who we wanted to be and never let anyone squander our aspirations. We may not have always been wealthy in life, but our lives were always rich with her in them. We will miss her dearly and hope we can continue to make her proud with what our futures hold. "A great woman will always be a great woman" and that is how we will remember our mom - spirited, supportive, compassionate and always encouraging. In lieu of flowers expressions of sympathy can be made in memory of Darlene to the Fort St. John SPCA. Memorial Service MAY 25. 01:00 PM Charlie Lake Community Church 244B rd Charlie Lake, BC, CA, V0C 1H0 http://www.charlielakechurch.com Services