Obituary of Darlene Cooper

Darlene Cooper (Osatchuk) Darlene passed away peacefully, Tuesday, March 1, 2016 with her niece, Tanys and brother Wes by her side. Left to mourn are her sister, Sylvia (Ron) Ganchar, children Melanie (Lonny), their children Josh and Amanda, Blaine (Andrea) children; Emily, Rylee, Madison and Jesse, Kari (Brian) children; Kirsten and Denver. Brother in law, Bob Kramchynski, children Greg, Darryl (Shannon) and son Jordan, Cindy (Brian) and children Michael and Kristina. Sister in law Mary Osatchuk, children Michael and Tammy, Kevin (Brenda) sons Shaun and Blake, Vanessa (Brent) daughter Marlee, Curtis, daughter Eva, Michelle (Bart) sons Wesley, Nicholas and Aleksander. Brother, Wes (Terri) and their children Shane, Tanys (Dean) and their daughter Brynn . Darlene was born Nov. 21, 1954 in Rosthern, Saskatchewan, where she lived on the family farm until moving to Saskatoon in 1968. Upon moving to Saskatoon, Darlene started high school at Walter Murray Collegiate; it was here that Darlene met many lifelong friends. In one of those friends (Mary- Lynn MacGowan), Darlene also found a second family whom she loved to spend time with. Darlene moved to Calgary in 1974. After working two years at the Calgary Herald, she landed a job in the oil and gas industry, where she worked for 24 years, meeting so many great friends. Working in downtown Calgary was particularly fun during the Stampede, Darlene would tell us that was her favorite time of the year as there was always something wild and crazy going on. Darlene maintained a special friendship with Diane and Barb after all those years; we thank you for all the support you gave Darlene. Darlene spent her last years as an Albertan, in Sundre, Alberta where she enjoyed acreage living. She loved the fact that her dog, Raven and her cats, Missy and Silly had such a beautiful place to roam .Darlene loved the quietness of country living and taking long walks and spending time with her friends and neighbors, Donna, Carolyn, Tammy, Linda and many more. She also enjoyed spending time at Tall Timber with Linda; she found it to be so peaceful and relaxing. Thank you ladies, for being such good friends to Darlene. Also, thank you, Hank, for always being available to help Darlene out when she needed an extra hand .In June of 2015, Darlene decided it was time for her to move home, back to her roots, as she missed her family. Although she was going to miss her Alberta friends, she really wanted to be close to her nieces and nephews. In July, Ron and Wes rented a trailer, drove to Sundre, packed up Darlene and her belongings and moved her back to Saskatoon. Little did we know her time with us would be so short. In the short time Darlene was back in Saskatoon, the greatest memories were made. Spending time at Waskesiu, sleepovers with her niece, Brynn, family birthday parties, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s. Darlene was also lucky enough to work as an Educational Assistant at Holy Cross High School, a job she loved. She enjoyed the uniqueness of each one of her students, they always made her smile. She also felt very lucky to call the staff at the school her “work family”, and was so happy to have made friends with so many of her co-workers. Thank you to all of you for your kind, caring support to Darlene during this time and for all the hospital visits, that made her feel very special. In January, Darlene was diagnosed with cancer. We would like to thank the home care workers for all the care you provided. February 7 was the last day Darlene spent at home. Moving in to Palliative Care at St. Paul’s Hospital is where Darlene would begin her final journey. Darlene was never alone during her last weeks of life. Thank you to her family, friends and co-workers for always being by her side. A special thank you to her dear friend, Ellen, for giving Darlene the best foot rubs and hand massages, which was something she looked forward to and enjoyed so much. Thanks to Tanys for always being by Darlene’s side and to Brynn for providing the comic relief that was always so welcomed. Finally, thank you for the care and compassion of the entire Palliative Care Unit, Darlene always called you her angels, and we couldn’t agree more. Darlene was predeceased by her mother (Helen), father (Paul), sister (Rose) brother (Ernie) and nephew (Wade). We take comfort in knowing they have been reunited after all these years.