December 3, 1938 – May 21, 2024
Born in the Beulah Home of Edmonton, Alberta, to her birth mother, Crystal Gayle, Jewell Evangeline received an adoptive home with Rose and Ralph Lanterman, and spent her early life in Red Deer.
After earning her Bachelor degree in Social Work from the Northwest Nazarene College in Idaho, and her Master degree in Social Work from the University of Toronto, Jewell taught Social Work at what was then Grant MacEwan Community College in Edmonton, served as the Director at the Sexual Assault Centre, and worked as a Clinical Social Worker in private practice.
Jewell loved singing, painting, taking long walks, cuddling her beloved dogs, and engaging in long, deep conversations with her friends. She benefitted every group and community she touched, as when visiting neighbours, chairing the Parish Kindergarten Committee, or hosting family and friends for Christmas dinners. She had an amazing ability to connect with people’s feelings and help her students, her family, her friends, and everyone she met to navigate their emotions. She was the heart of her family.
Her husband of 54 years, Val Merchant, will remember her lovingly, as will her children,
Michelle (Malcolm), Derek (Mary Joan), and Monique (Stuart); her grandchildren, Yemaya, Samantha, Naqait, Erica, Isla, Sadie, and Jack; her brother, Tom (Charlie) Cook; her sister-in-law, Marianne (Ken) Lysenko; her brother-in-law, Jim (Sharon) Merchant; and many friends and relatives.
Jewell is predeceased by her sister, Oralie Cook; her sister-in-law, Mona Cush; her
brother-in-law, Ken Cush; and her brother-in-law, Bernie Merchant.
The funeral will be Saturday, June 1, 2024, at 10 a.m. at Connelly-McKinley St. Albert Funeral Home, 9 Muir Drive.
To commemorate Jewell, please donate in her name to the Alzheimer’s Society of Alberta and Northwest Territories (https://alzheimer.ca/ab/en).
The family deeply thanks the staff at the Youville Home for their care and compassion.
To send condolences, please visit www.connelly-mckinley.com.
Connelly-McKinley Funeral Home
St. Albert Chapel
(780) 458-2222
