It is with great sadness that we announce the peaceful passing of Eleanor Katherine Schimpf, or as everyone knew her, Kay, on June 27, 2023, at the age of 86.
Kay was predeceased by her husband of 64 years, Tony Schimpf, parents Bill and Edith Davidson, and sister Wilma. She is survived by her sister Lorraine.
She is lovingly remembered by her children Janet (Jeff) and Keith (Barb), grandchildren Chase (Alanna), Thea (Elijah), Ryan (Sherry), Graham, and Lance (Brianne), several great-grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews.
Born in Kamloops, Kay was raised in Beresford on the family farm. In 1954, Kay, then known as Katie Davidson, presented her grand champion steer at the Kamloops and BC 4H competitions, winning the provincial crown and representing BC in the national competition in Toronto. She always had a way with animals and loved riding horses and chasing cows on her uncle’s ranch in Campbell Creek. In 1955, Kay graduated from Kam High, an impressive feat considering that she missed many days of school in the fall, harvesting the family crops, and in winter, being snowed-in up in Beresford. Soon after graduation, in 1957, Kay began working at Chapman’s Transport, where she met her future husband, Tony. They were married on October 11, 1958, and soon started a family in Brocklehurst.
Things were tight in the early years as Kay honed her cooking & homemaking skills. Her plentiful garden and abundant fruit trees allowed her to stock the pantry with fruits, vegetables, and preserves, while the root cellar (which she dug herself), kept root vegetables fresh nearly year-round. She soon mastered baking bread, pies, and cookies, which always had the neighbour kids pressed against the screen door pleading for a bite. Her masterful sewing skills allowed her to fashion and mend her husband's and children’s clothes, while her background on the farm gave her the strong stomach to become the neighbourhood’s doctor. Someone was always getting bandaged by the bathroom sink.
Kay loved sports and was involved in the early years of Brock Minor Hockey, North Kamloops softball, Brownies, and Girl Guides. She was always in the bleachers supporting her children and grandchildren, pacing back and forth when the score was tight. Her passion for sports endured until the end, with hospital staff teasing her for watching Sportsnet all day. She was also a long-time Kamloops Blazers ticket holder and loved watching the Saskatchewan Rough Riders and the Toronto Blue Jays.
In 1985 her uncle, Lindo Giacomuzi, passed away, and Kay and Tony soon exchanged their working jobs for life on Lindo’s Campbell Creek ranch. They loved the fresh air and active lifestyle. In 1998, their new home was built in Knutsford, and Kay and Tony continued to run cattle, grow hay, and tend to a large vegetable garden into their late 80s. Her garden only grew as she aged and there was never a weed to be seen! Only after she turned 80 did Kay accept her role as supervisor and let others throw hay bales onto the trailer. Fiercely independent and hard-working, Kay once told everyone the purchasers of the hay would put it in the barn the next day, only for the family to discover hours later than she’d put the hay away herself. She never complained, and her work ethic, compassion, and humour, along with the skills and knowledge she passed on, will endure forever.
