Obituary of Yvonne Marie Hazeldene

January 4, 1934 - Bristol, England

November 28, 2023 - Calgary, Alberta

Yvonne Hazeldene, a longtime resident of Calgary, passed away on Tuesday, November 28, 2023 at the age of 89, a month before her 90th birthday.

Yvonne was born to Vernon and Julie Hazeldene in Bristol, England, but as a child, her parents divorced and her mother brought Yvonne, her only child, to Canada. She went to school in Toronto and then studied at Ryerson Polytechnique as a chemical technologist. As a youth, she was active in sports and, notably, was a sports car race driver at Mosport Race Track.

After her schooling, she worked at Barringer Research in Rexdale, ON, where she would become Department Head of the Geochemical Laboratory. Barringer was an incredibly intense, high-tech, exciting research and service company in the mining exploration industry. Yvonne was a part of that innovative team. Yvonne loved to travel but hated and was deathly afraid of flying. Nevertheless, she travelled throughout Europe and the Middle East on vacations, her favorite being Lebanon during its earlier, stable years.

In 1980, she relocated to Calgary to start a business and open a geochemical lab in Calgary. During those years, frustrated with federal energy policies, Yvonne became very involved in politics behind the scenes to help many federal, provincial, and civic politicians get elected.

She was physically, mentally, and socially active as a leader on three boards—federal, provincial, and her condominium board—until that day in June 2022 when she had a stroke that rendered her right side paralyzed. She never returned home. After a short time at the hospital and Rosedale Hospice, she was transferred to extended care at Cambridge Manor until she passed away due to complications of recurring cancer.

Yvonne has cousins in England and France but no close relatives in Canada. She has dozens of close friends in the political community, including former and current MPs, MLAs, and City Councillors. Her passion was to improve how Canada is governed.

Memorial Services will be held at McInnis and Holloway (Crowfoot, 82 Crowfoot Circle NE, Calgary, AB) on Saturday, January 6, 2024, at 2:00 p.m. Reception to follow in the Hospitality Centre at the Funeral Home. Condolences, memories, and photos may be shared and viewed with Yvonne’s family here.

In living memory of Yvonne Hazeldene, a tree will be planted in the Ann & Sandy Cross Conservation Area by McInnis & Holloway Funeral Homes, Crowfoot, 82 Crowfoot Circle NW, Calgary, AB T3G 2T3, Telephone: 403-241-0044.