Gertrude Patricia Hanly (née Newcomb)

In loving memory ~

Gertrude Patricia Hanly (née Newcomb) passed away peacefully on April 9, 2025, at the Bethany Care Centre in Sylvan Lake. The family extends heartfelt thanks to the staff for their care and compassion.

Gertrude was born on December 4, 1931, in the farmhouse her father and grandfather built on their homestead, affectionately known as "The Lost Chicken Ranch," near Alhambra, Alberta. Her parents, Harold Newcomb and Mary Dolan, came from pioneering Alberta families who were among the first to clear and farm the forested land in the region.

Her father, Harold, was one of the earliest farmers between Rocky Mountain House and Sylvan Lake to adopt modern farm machinery, which he also rented to neighbours while working his own three quarter sections. He operated a boarding station for horses, wagons, and stagecoaches along the Rocky Mountain House-Red Deer trail and ran a sawmill until it was lost to wildfire in November 1940.

Gertrude spent many of her childhood years helping on her grandfather Thomas Dolan's nearby farm. Her mother, Mary Dolan, operated the Shamrock Store in Sylvan Lake from 1949 until the late 1950s. In 1940, the Newcomb family moved to Red Deer, where Gertrude and her sisters, Margaret (Bojda) and Nadine (Taylor), attended St. Joseph's Convent Boarding School.

She later entered the nursing training program at Alberta Hospital in Edmonton, where she met her husband, Ralph Patrick Hanly. They were married on January 5, 1950, at Sacred Heart Church in Red Deer and settled in Bowness, Calgary. Between Calgary and Sylvan Lake, they raised eight children: Harold, Donah, Deborah, Michael, Barbara-Joan, Patrick, Martin, and Judith.

From 1964 to 1985, Gertrude worked for the University of Alberta's Provincial Laboratory in Calgary.

Gertrude was predeceased by her husband Ralph, her daughter Donah, her grandson Theodore, and her sisters Margaret and Nadine.

She leaves behind a legacy of love: 38 children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

A funeral service will be held on Saturday, April 26, 2025, at 12:00 p.m. at Our Lady of the Assumption Parish, located at 5033 - 47A Avenue, Sylvan Lake, Alberta.