Shirley Anne Richardson

February 8, 1925 - March 11, 2023

Shirley Anne Richardson died peacefully on March 11, 2023 at the HSC Women’s Hospital in Winnipeg at the age of 98. She was lovingly surrounded and comforted by many family and friends who were able to visit with her during her final week.

Shirley was born on February 8, 1925, at Wyburn in Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire, England. She was the daughter of John Royden Rooper and Isobel Iris (Calthrop) Rooper of Shamley Green, Surrey, England, and was a beloved younger sister to Anthony, Ralph, and David Rooper.

Shirley was predeceased by her loving husband of 55 years, the Honourable James A. Richardson and her cherished son, Royden Rooper Richardson.

The matriarch of a large family, “Mum” always provided unconditional love and support to her five children and their spouses: Jim Richardson (Leney), Carolyn Hursh (Larry), Royden Richardson (Beverley), Serena Richardson (Kurt Weinheimer), Sara Thomson (Graeme) as well as daughter-in-law Joan Richardson. “Granny” also dearly loved her sixteen grandchildren and their spouses and partners. “G.G.” treasured her twenty-three great grandchildren. “Aunt Shirley” was a well-loved aunt and great-aunt to many nephews, nieces, great-nephews and great-nieces living throughout Canada and the U.K. She will be deeply missed by all of us, including Desiree Pelletier, her companion and best friend for the past decade who made sure no opportunity, experience or adventure was ever missed.

Shirley’s early childhood was idyllic. The family home, Reel Hall, was set in a valley near a small stream in the village of Shamley Green. Shirley learned to ride horses on bridle paths laced throughout the nearby woods. She spent hours drawing pictures of dragons with her neighbour, Carmen Blacker, and riding the Cotswold Hills with her lifelong friend, Anne Renshaw (Bennett). Summers were usually for family travel to Europe, but at the age of twelve, Shirley made an epic journey with her parents by ship through the Panama Canal to New Zealand.

By June of 1940, when the Allied troops were evacuated from Dunkirk and a German invasion of England was imminent, the British Government implemented a program to send as many children as possible to safety in Canada and the United States. With three sons serving in the Armed Forces, Shirley’s parents consented to let their youngest child and only daughter join the Benenden School group going by ship to Canada. At age 15, along with hundreds of other children, Shirley boarded the C.P.R. Empress of Canada which was one of two ships carrying schoolchildren that set out to cross the Atlantic without the protection of a convoy. After several days at sea, a German submarine torpedoed the other ship. Only the C.P.R. Empress of Canada reached the shores of north America safely.

Upon arrival in Canada, their ship travelled up the St. Lawrence and docked in Montreal. The Benenden School group took the train to Winnipeg where they were enrolled in Riverbend School (now Balmoral Hall School). Near the end of her grade eleven year at Riverbend, Shirley learned that her oldest brother, Anthony, had been killed while serving as an RAF pilot.

After completing school, Shirley took a secretarial course in February of 1942, and secured a job in Montreal with the British Ministry of War Transport. This department dealt with secret information concerning the movement of ships and convoys. While there, Shirley learned there was space aboard a French Freighter leaving from Halifax, and so, at age seventeen, she crossed the ocean back to England.

After Shirley’s return to England, she joined the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) and was accepted for Transport Service. She was posted to Fighter 11 Group Station at Hawkinge Airfield in Kent. As well as driving trucks, she kept records for the Transport Division. While stationed at Hawkinge, Shirley learned from her Commanding Officer that her second brother, Ralph, who was in charge of a Naval Motor Torpedo Boat, had been killed near the Dutch coast. To quote Shirley, “Life was tough and cruel. One grew up fast in wartime.”

During her time in Canada, Shirley had met and become friendly with Dave and Jessie Gillies, who lived in Arnprior on the banks of the Ottawa River. After the war Shirley made a trip back to North America to visit with the Gillies. While she was staying with them, they invited the son of friends, a young man named Jim Richardson who was working in Toronto at the time, to join them for a visit. This small group headed to the Seigniory Club (now Chateau Montebello) for the weekend, and the rest is history.

On September 10, 1949, Shirley Rooper and Jim Richardson were married in St Margaret’s Church by Westminster Abbey in London, followed by a reception at the Savoy Hotel. After their honeymoon, they returned to Canada to start their life together in Winnipeg, Manitoba. They built a family home on 30 acres along the banks of the Assiniboine River complete with flower and vegetable gardens, an orchard of fruit trees, a stable for sheep, ponies and donkeys and a putting green for Jim! A decade later, Jim and Shirley built a beautiful “camp” on Kalamalka Island at the Lake of the Woods which became, and continues to be, the site of countless memorable family gatherings. During the summer months at Kalamalka, when the children and grandchildren were little, Shirley would often hold court on the swim dock. This is perhaps where her dedication to taking a daily swim was born - a habit she kept up in her backyard pool until her final summer, no doubt contributing to her enviable health well into her 99th year.

Shirley and Jim had five children who were born between 1950 and 1959, and all five attended school in Winnipeg. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Jim’s political career in federal politics kept him in Ottawa, but Shirley decided not to uproot her teenage children by moving them to a new city and new schools. She chose instead to stay with them in Winnipeg. Looking after five teenage children was not easy, especially during the rebellious years of the 1960s, but Shirley was buffered by a wonderful group of women friends known as the Thursday Lunch Group who became lifelong friends.

Shirley brought her elderly mother to Winnipeg and cared for her until her death. She also served on the board of directors for Middlechurch Nursing Home where she advocated for reforms such as proper dental care for seniors. Additionally, she volunteered at Middlechurch by reading stories to the elderly residents. For many years, Shirley attended St. Luke’s Church and was a member of the vestry and other committees.

Shirley was definitely the heart of our family. When Jim became ill with early-onset Alzheimer’s, Shirley was his staunch advocate. She lovingly and steadfastly cared for him throughout this challenging period, embodying strength and compassion until Jim’s death in 2004.

Shirley loved the Arts and was an ardent supporter of the Manitoba Theatre Centre, the Winnipeg Symphony, the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Winnipeg’s Contemporary Dancers and the Winnipeg Art Gallery. Shirley also supported local Craft Guilds, donating to Manitoba quilters better quality material and thread for their beautiful hand-stitched quilts. In later years, she became a lead sponsor of the new Winnipeg C2 Centre for Crafts. In 2022, Shirley was honoured as a recipient of the Order of Manitoba.

Perhaps Shirley’s greatest accomplishment, outside of her family, was her dream for Winnipeg to have a butterfly garden for all to enjoy. As a first step to accomplishing this vision, she and her adult children provided the funds for a temporary butterfly garden within the Assiniboine Park Zoo. This temporary exhibit was so successful that a permanent butterfly garden was incorporated into the design of the newly opened park attraction, The Leaf. The Shirley Richardson Butterfly Garden carries her name in recognition of her vision and her family’s support.

It was important to Shirley that the attraction bearing her name be accessible to everyone without restriction. To ensure this, Shirley made a founding donation to create the ParkShare Endowment in support of Assiniboine Park at the Winnipeg Foundation, which is dedicated to ensuring accessibility for all.

It took a village to keep up with Shirley. The family extends heartfelt gratitude to Desiree Pelletier, Teresa Kitschke, Don Jones and Moray Merchant for their longstanding support, as well as to Stacy Pendree, Sheila Cua, Liza Monton, Rosemarie Pacheco, Grace Romero, Kam Kamaldeep and the staff at Shaftesbury Retirement Residence for their love and care. We would also like to thank the HSC emergency room staff, Dawn & the GH7 Ward, Dr. Buzura and Women’s Hospital for their exemplary care in her final days.

To all who knew her, Shirley was an undeniable life force and a style maven, who maintained many relationships with family and friends around the world, and truly delighted in spending time and creating memories with everyone she loved. Her Christmas letters were legendary. Shirley/Mum/Granny/GG was simply remarkable and will be loved forever. Her curiosity, stoicism, stories, optimism, breadth of interests, humour, and love of adventure will be greatly missed by all.

A memorial service is being planned for a future date. In lieu of flowers please consider a donation to The ParkShare Endowment Fund at the Winnipeg Foundation.