In Memory Of

Elsie Ruth Gustavson

Mar 31, 1940 - Apr 7, 2026

Service

Sunday, April 26, 2026
1:30 pm
Eckville Community Centre
5315-52 street
Eckville, AB

Notice

Suggested tributes, SIM Canada - SIMCanada

Obituary

Elsie Gustavson, beloved wife of the late Gerald, passed away peacefully April 7, 2026, at Eckville Manor House.
Elsie was born March 31, 1940, in Vom, Plateau Province, Nigeria, where her parents, Hector and Margaret Kirk, served as missionaries with the Sudan Interior Mission. Much of her early childhood was spent at the Gowans Home for Missionaries' Children in Collingwood, Ontario, while her parents served abroad. The family returned to Africa in 1948, and Elsie attended boarding school at Kent Academy in Miango, Nigeria. During weekends and holidays with her parents, she visited local markets and villages and learned to always check her shoes for errant scorpions. In 1951, the family returned to Canada and settled in Three Hills, Alberta, where Elsie attended Prairie Elementary and Prairie High School.
Upon graduation, Elsie began nursing training at Calgary General Hospital. In 1964, wanting a small-town experience, she chose Eckville by pointing to it on a map and joined the hospital staff. She lived in the nurses' residence and, by her own account, read through the entire Eckville library. It wasn't long before she met Gerry at the curling rink, and they married in 1967. She settled into married life on the farm and welcomed three sons: Joey, Wesley, and Andrew.
Shaped by her upbringing, Elsie was a woman of deep Christian faith who lived a life of quiet service to others. She devoted herself to her family, her church, and her community, offering her time and care without fanfare or expectation of recognition. Her faith was expressed through countless humble acts—sharing garden produce, writing encouraging notes and letters to friends, family, and neighbors, leading the Hospital Auxiliary, contributing to church life, and supporting overseas missions. Elsie was a loving mother to her three sons and extended that same love to her many grandchildren and surrogate grandchildren, always keeping toys and dress-up clothes on hand for their visits and celebrating their accomplishments. Elsie's faith also encompassed a deep connection with nature, nurtured through childhood walks with her father, tending her own garden, and twenty-five years on the family trapline near Jackfish Lake.
Elsie was loved by many, most of all by her late husband Gerald, to whom she was married for 53 years. She is survived by her sons Joey (Sonia) and Jared, Jakob, and Jabin; Wesley (Marsha) and Scarlett; Andrew (Lisa) and Alyssa, Nickolas, and Makayla; grandsons Nick Boivin (Kaylee) and Ivy, and Kristen van Dellan (Cam); her brother Angus (Diane) Kirk; special niece Heather (Reid) Bastin; and her sister-in-law Marilyn (Percy) Thomas of Winnipeg.
A Memorial Service is planned for Sunday, April 26th at the Eckville Community Centre at 1:30pm. Suggested tributes, SIM Canada - SIMCanada

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