Obituary of Doreen Drusilla Kilbourn

October 19, 1929 – High River, Alberta

December 19, 2023 – Invermere, British Columbia

Doreen Drusilla Kilbourn (née Standly), 94, of Invermere, BC, passed away on Tuesday, December 19, 2023, surrounded by family and friends.

Born on October 12, 1929, to Aylmer (Jim) and Edith Standly in High River, AB, Doreen was the last of four girls in a prairie homesteading family. As the youngest daughter, Doreen was the only one of the four to be born in a hospital. After the family moved to Calgary, Doreen went on to graduate in 1948 from Western Canada High School, where she was very active in the Young People’s Players Theatre Club. She had many adventures with the friends she made back then, such as a cycling trip to Banff, in the days of single-gear bikes, and kept them close all these years.

Doreen met Garry Kilbourn at a dance in Calgary, and in 1951 they were married. They went on to have three children, Kenneth, Drusilla, and Russell. Doreen was a devoted mother to her children; in the style of the times, she was always there for them, until they went off to make their respective lives.

She later gained her own independence and worked for the Alberta Law Foundation and Canada Trust. That said, family always came first to Doreen, a value she instilled in everyone around her. The annual family “Standly Cup” golf tournament, for instance, was for decades a highlight for all the generations. Doreen’s quiet but lively presence inspired all she met, right up to her 2020 move to Invermere, BC, where she found a new circle of friends to complement those she left behind in Calgary, where, since 1960, she had lived in the house on Chicoutimi Drive NW.

Doreen was predeceased by her husband Garry, son Ken (Elfriede), and his son and Doreen’s grandson, Torsten, as well as Dave Clark, her partner for several years in her later life.

She is survived by Dru (Tony), Russell (Sandra), and her five grandchildren, Andy, Denise (George), Owen, Abby, and Francesca; her great-grandchild Hendrix, and five generations of nieces and nephews.

Funeral Services will be held at McInnis & Holloway (Chapel of the Bells, 2720 Centre Street N, Calgary, AB T2E 2V6) on Saturday, April 13, 2024, at 2:00 p.m. An Inurnment Service to follow at Queen’s Park Cemetery. Reception will follow in the Hospitality Centre at the Funeral Home.

Family and friends who are unable to attend in person are invited to join Doreen's service streamed live (see link below) on the day of the service. For those who are unable to view live, a recording of the service will be posted.

If friends so desire, memorial tributes may be made in Doreen’s name directly to the Canadian Red Cross, Southern Alberta Region, 2nd Floor, 1305 – 11 Avenue S.W., Calgary, AB T3C 3P6, Telephone: (403) 541-6100, www.redcross.ca.

Condolences, memories, and photos may be shared and viewed with Doreen’s family here.

In living memory of Doreen Kilbourn, a tree will be planted in the Ann & Sandy Cross Conservation Area by McInnis & Holloway Funeral Homes, Chapel of the Bells, 2720 Centre Street North, Calgary, AB T2E 2V6, Telephone: 403-243-8200.

Click to Sign the Video Guest Book and watch Doreen Kilbourn's Memorial Service