Myrtle McIntyre

Born in 1932 Clara Myrtle Shuttleworth, was brought up in a frugal, yet abundant household on a farm in Aspen Grove, B.C. She was the third of four sisters: her eldest, Joan and Norma, and her youngest, Barbara. She was very close to all of them. She lived an active and wholesome childhood with her sisters and parents, Reginald Shuttleworth and Alice Earnshaw, where they grew up with and looked after horses, cows, chickens and did plenty of home and garden work.

Myrtle chose to become a nurse after High School. She attended St. Paul’s Hospital for nursing in Vancouver and graduated a Registered Nurse in 1956. In her nursing post in Burns Lake, she met Wally McIntyre at a Decker Lake dance. She literally was whirled off her feet by Wally. They were married in August 1959. Settled In Smithers she and Wally raised their five children: Juanita, Paul, Sandra, Gwen and Nels. They settled on a farm just out of town where they also raised and kept horses, cows, and chickens and they always planted and tended a very large vegetable and berry garden that kept them all very busy most of the year.

Myrtle was a hard worker, strong and stoic. She worked 30 years in the Smithers District Hospital where she was Head Nurse and Emergency Nurse. She loved and thrived on her nursing career. She loved her outdoor activities too. When she wasn’t working at the hospital or taking care of children or animals on the farm, she could always be found either horse riding, hiking, camping, berry picking, boating, or fishing in the summers and she loved to X-country ski.

Myrtle was also a notorious scrabble player – she was a bit ruthless and set a very high scoring standard for the family. She had a tactic of groaning and sighing whenever she picked up new letters only to set down a ridiculously high scoring word on her next turn. It was always a fun challenge playing with her.

Myrtle always loved the idea of travel. After a long shift at the hospital, she could be found sitting at the end of the dining table with a globe at her fingertips. She would watch the news and turn her globe to see where in the world everything was happening. As a child she loved maps and always wanted to travel. And she did. She took many road trips around B.C. and the North and the Western United States with Wally and made treks to Indonesia, Guatemala, Mexico, Scotland and England with family and friends.

Myrtle and Wally moved out of Smithers to Houston and later to Granisle for their retirement years. They spent much of their time travelling Canada and the US, hiking, fishing, and berry picking. After Wally’s passing in 2014, Myrtle moved back to Smithers to be near family.

Myrtle is survived by her children Juanita (Tammy), Paul, Sandra (Blair), Gwen (Jeff), Nels (Carly), grandchildren, Nels, Rebekah, Jordan, Jessica, Angus, Acacia, Sydney, Jolene, Blake, and Kayl and great grandchildren, Carter, and Marek. She was predeceased by her husband Wally, in 2014, and her sisters Joan Sterling, Norma Shuttleworth, and Barbara Street.

She passed away Tuesday, May 23, 2023, at The Bulkley Valley District Hospital at age 90. She will be dearly missed. Many kind thanks to staff at The Meadows and the Bulkley Valley District Hospital for their loving care of Myrtle these past years.

A Funeral Service will be held on Saturday, July 15th at 10:30 am in St. Joseph's Parish in Smithers.

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