Lorna Jean (Gallinger) Rieland

Lorna Jean (Gallinger) Rieland

February 13, 1947 – January 16, 2023

It is with great sadness the family wish to announce that Lorna Jean Rieland of Blackfalds passed away peacefully, surrounded by family, on January 16, 2023 at the Red Deer Regional Hospital at the age of 75.

Lorna is lovingly remembered by her devoted husband of almost 58 years, Joe Rieland; Sons: Joe (Johanne), their kids Jason (Leah) & Corie; Kelvin, his kids Roman & McKayla (David) Parker; Gerald (Kim),Gerald’s kids Amie (Mike) Packer & Tyson (Jamie); Ray (Dolly), their girls Amanda (Mike) Bolger & Rachel; Daughters: Twila (Jason) Reed, their girls Kahlie & Ashlie; Trina (Brad) Seibel, their boys Luke & Callen; as well as 11 great grandchildren.

She is also survived by sisters: Donna (Dennis) Russell of Parkbeg, SK; Helen (Stan) Donald of Fort St. Johns, BC; Carol (Hans) Lievaart of Vulcan, AB; Judy (Murray) Phillips of Hawarden, SK; brother: Carman Gallinger of Fox Creek, AB; as well as numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.

Lorna is predeceased by brothers Larry & Clifford in 1964, Dad Harry in 1976 and mom Annie in 2017.

Lorna and Joe started their lives together in Saskatchewan but soon traveled west to Alberta for work.  They found themselves on many an outdoor adventure over the years, with their growing family in tow.  Camping, fishing and everything in between made for many fond memories that we relive at every family get together.  They lived a simple and purposeful life and Lorna could always make the most of everything they had.  With 6 kids, Lorna mastered the ways of the kitchen. Making feeding a large group look like a breeze.  From always having a jar of cookies ready for grandkids to steal to fresh buns to go with supper.  Canned fruits and smoked fish always made for an easy lunch and potato pancakes or flatbread for those special visits where she wanted us kids to taste a piece of our childhood again. Her recipes have been sought after by many and will be cherished by family for years to come.

Fishing has been a large part of Lorna and Joe’s lives together and that love was passed on to their large family.  From fishing derbies at Lake Minnewanka with the boat, to shore fishing the Clearwater River almost every weekend during the summer and then off to Sylvan Lake during the winter for some amazing ice fishing.  In their golden years they found a deep love of fishing at Abraham Lake by Nordegg.  The mountains called to Lorna and you could always expect to be shown new pictures of them and nature on her phone after their Nordegg trips. That area clearly became her favorite place, and she would do everything possible to spend as much time as she could out there.  Not only did Lorna love fishing but she was regularly very good at it and would usually catch the most fish out of everyone she fished with.  Maybe it was her calm and patient nature or maybe it was luck but either way you couldn’t help but get annoyed when she caught yet another fish.  We will always wish we had got to have one more fishing trip with her but the ones we had will have to be enough until we meet again. 

A Celebration of Lorna’s Life will be held at Wilson’s Funeral Chapel, 6120 Highway 2A  Lacombe AB, on February 7, 2023 at 1:00 PM, followed by Graveside Service at Fairview Cemetery in Lacombe.  The celebration will continue with a Come and Go Tea at Lacombe Memorial Centre, 5214 50 Ave Lacombe AB, from 3-5 PM.

The Funeral will be recorded and placed on this website for those family and friends unable to attend.

Special thanks to the Red Deer Regional Hospital staff in the Neurology, Emergency and ICU departments as they took great care of mom and their understanding for us kids as we overwhelmed hospital rooms with our outpouring of love for her.

If so desired memorial donations can be made in her honor to your local Legion Branch,  The Broomtree Foundation Ltd of Lacombe via https://www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/78095?v1=true or the charity of your choosing.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Lorna Jean (Gallinger) Rieland, please visit our floral store.