Sheila Hutchison

It is with great sadness, but an abundance of wonderful memories that we announce the passing of our Mum and Grandma, Sheila Hutchison on Monday January 6, 2026 at the age of 74.

Sheila was born on February 1, 1951, the second daughter of Ivan and Alice (Shaw) Foster at Inwood, Manitoba. Sheila joined her older sister Linda, and over the next 8 years two more sisters were born, Glenda and Sandra.

Sheila attended school for her early years at Sight Hill School, in a one room country school at MacGregor, Manitoba. The family moved to the Foster family farm NE of Ochre River in 1962, where Sheila then attended the Ochre River School for Grade 8, and then she attended DCTI in Dauphin for Grades 9-12.

Mum had a great group of friends in school, many stayed in touch with her for the rest of her life. Judy, Lydia and Ruth R, and mum’s sister Glenda, were able to visit her on the day of her passing. Special mention to Ruth Robertson who was such an amazing and loyal friend to mum, rarely missing a weekly visit with her over the last 10 years of mum living at the nursing home. Her sisters Linda and Glenda made frequent visits and sister Sandra would often FaceTime.

Sheila met her sweetheart Bill Hutchison in Ochre River, and they married on December 20, 1969. Their first daughter, Shannon Leigh, was born January 1, 1970, with Heather Lynn following on April 3, 1973. Mum stayed home to raise us for our early years, taking in a few extra children to babysit for extra income. But all that changed in 1978 when mum applied for, and was hired, for her very first job ever as a Dietary Clerk in the kitchen at the Dauphin General Hospital. She loved her job and hardly missed a day in her 28 years of employment there. Mum was well liked, efficient, and had friendships outside of work with many of her coworkers. The only thing that stopped her from working was the sudden death of our dad in 2004. She took a leave from her job for awhile, then tried for a short time to go back, but she just wasn’t able to manage , and she then officially retired at the age of 56. By that time she was a Grandma to 4 little grandsons and poured her time into helping Shannon and Heather with their young families.

Our Mum enjoyed helping others. She delivered Meals on Wheels for many years, and was a regular blood donor. She received an award when she reached 50 donations, something she was very proud of. She also canvassed door to door for the Heart and Stroke Foundation.

Mum was a lifelong Elvis fan, and in the late 80’s mum and dad went on her dream trip to see the King of Rock and Roll’s home , Graceland. They also travelled to Omaha, Arkansas to visit her Uncle Dave, Auntie Doreen, David and Debbie Shaw and their families. Several trips were made out west to visit her sister Sandra and Cory in Cranbrook, BC. As a family we always took a trip during summer holidays – North Dakota, South Dakota, Edmonton, Vancouver, Victoria and Toronto to name a few.

Mum was diagnosed with Frontal Temporal Lobe Dementia just days after her 65th birthday, and we started to realize looking back that this monster of a disease had already been stealing bits and pieces of her several years before her diagnosis. She was able to live in her home for a short time until it was no longer safe for her. Then the extremely difficult decision was made to move her to St. Paul’s Nursing Home. While difficult for us, our mum actually enjoyed living in there. So that helped to give us some comfort. In 2021 she was temporarily moved to the Dauphin Personal Care Home due renovations at St. Paul’s, but she seemed to settle in well to her new place, so we made the decision that she would continue to live there.

One of her greatest joys were her 4 grandchildren. She loved spending time with them, taking Brody and Levi to rodeos, going to McDonald’s for coffee, playgrounds, brown bag lunch at school and  Tinkertown. When she would come to visit Graham and Connor in Winnipeg there were lots of outings to the school playgrounds, walks, running errands with us, colouring and reading with them.

 Mum had amazing care at both facilities, the staff were all so kind and compassionate. A special thank you to the nurses and aides that cared for our mum and the Activities Department for all their hard work in planning events and activities to keep her engaged, and to Dr. Mathison who provided care for mum over the years.

Our mum was such a big part of our lives. She was proud of her daughters, their careers and the lives they made. We were able to celebrate one last Christmas family gathering, which we will remember forever.

Mum was kind, gentle and patient. She always seemed to know when she should offer advice, and when to let us figure it out on our own. She loved us, and we were very blessed to be with her for her final breath, as we held her and made sure she knew how much she was loved and would be missed. Mum is finally free and whole in mind and body, and is reunited with our dad, her cat Chloe, her parents and all her other family and friends who passed before her.

Sheila leaves to mourn her passing two daughters Shannon (Curtis) Denbow of Dauphin and Heather (Neil) Campbell of Winnipeg;  grandsons Brody Denbow (Liz), Levi Denbow, Graham Hutchison-Campbell (Donnae), Connor Hutchison-Campbell; step-grandson Taylor Denbow (Rose); sisters Linda (Bob) Gilroy of Dauphin, Glenda (John) Higgins of Rapid City and Sandra (Cory)Lovell of Wynndel, BC; nieces and nephews Bob Jr ( Twyla) Gilroy, Brian (Alison) Gilroy, Jeff Gilroy  (Linda), Carla  Gilroy  (James),  Jared (Hedy) Higgins, Jaclyn  (Clint) Calcut and Tyler (Bridie) Durston;  numerous great nieces and nephews as well as many cousins of the Foster and Shaw families. Friends of special mention are Ruth Robertson, Judy Cleave, Lydia Geertsema, Ruth Sutherland, Barb Jubenville and Lorraine Knourek.

Sheila was predeceased by her husband Bill Hutchison (2004); parents Alice Foster (2020) and Ivan Foster (2004); mother-in-law Alice Hutchison (1998); father-in-law George Hutchison (1984) and grandmother-in-law Olive Foreman (2006).

A Funeral Service was held for Sheila on Monday, January 12, 2026 at 2:00 pm from the Sneath-Strilchuk Family Care Centre in Dauphin with Rev. Ilene Dowd officiating.  

Interment followed in the Riverside Cemetery in Dauphin.

Should friends so desire, donations in memory of Sheila may be made to the Dauphin Personal Care Home ~ Activities Department or the Dauphin Bible Camp Horsemanship Program.

The service will be live streamed for those that are unable to attend.

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