Elsie Santucci

Elsie will be forever remembered and loved by her granddaughter Tracy (Marlowe) her great grandchildren Nicholas and Jordan (Kheiara) grandson Michael (Scott) her friend Mike L, her best friend Mary P, her friend Annie at Bow View Manor

Elsie is predeceased by her husband Ernest Anthony Santucci, her partner Richard James Dafoe, her daughter Beverly Anne Waldner, and her siblings Mary, Bill, Mike, and Rose.

Elsie was born in Vegreville Alberta the youngest of five children and spent the first 3 years of her life on her parent’s farm in Duvernay Alberta until they moved to Calgary in 1929. Elsie loved animals and as a child would bring home any stray cat she could find. She spent her time skating and sewing in her youth and worked as a seamstress before meeting and marrying the love of her life Ernie. They loved the mountains and would go to Banff any chance they could. They loved to travel and went to Hawaii, Puerto Vallarta, Las Vegas and Reno Nevada. When Ernie passed it broke her heart and she spent the next few years sewing and volunteering to occupy her time.

When she met Richard she carried on her love of travel and adventure. They opened a grocery store in Drumheller where she managed the deli and loved to make fresh pierogies everyday....but neither of them could stay in one place long and Elsie resumed her love of travel with Richard and their dog Lucky. They would travel each year to Las Vegas and help friends sell Pumpkins and Christmas trees. We loved getting her post cards and pictures and hearing about their adventures. When they couldn’t travel any longer they spent time taking drives in the mountains, playing crib, and coming to watch Nicholas play soccer and Jordan play hockey.

Elsie was a very social person and when Richard passed she made many friends that she could head to the casino with or play bingo with. She loved going on drives with her granddaughter Tracy and Marlowe and spending time with her great grandsons Nicholas and Jordan.

It was a tough transition to Long Term Care but Elsie participated in every activity she could and soon made friends. Our Grandma (Nana) always had a smile and a kind word for staff or residents at Bow View and made an effort to talk to anyone and everyone. She always said “I have lived a good life and have so many memories in my memory box and I go there all the time”.

Elsie lived the life she wanted and brought love and happiness to so many. Those who remember her will remember her smile, positive attitude and her caring nature.

We wish to express our sincerest gratitude to the staff and caregivers at Bow View Manor especially those on the Palliser floor where she resided, for their care and kindness. A special Thank you to Dr. Rebecca Ng who recently took over her care for connecting with us and ensuring our Grandma (Nana) was pain free and well taken care of.

At Elsie’s request there will be no memorial service. We encourage you to share your condolences here.

If friends desire, donations may be made in Elsie’s name to the Calgary Humane Society at https://www.calgaryhumane.ca/.