November 8, 1930 – January 21, 2025

Audrey Saigeon (nee Gardiner) was born November 8, 1930, in Wainwright, Alberta, and passed away in Kamloops, B.C., at the Royal Inland Hospital on January 21, 2025. She lived 94 busy and fulfilling years. 

Audrey was predeceased by her husband, Cecil Walter Saigeon in 1983, her son, Roy Cecil Saigeon in 1985 and her daughter-in-law, Debbie Saigeon Bakos in 2023. She lost her father, David Gardiner in 1976 and her mother, Fern Johnston Gardiner in 1981. She lost her father-in-law, William Cecil Saigeon in 1936 and her mother-in-law, Bessie Gertrude Kelly Gardiner in 1987. Audrey outlived all of her siblings which included Beulah Myggland (died 1978), Georgina Myggland (died 2024), Fern Hetland (died 1995), Ada Rutherford (died 2021), and David Gardiner (died, 2002). 

Audrey is survived by her granddaughter, Katherine Violet Saigeon Hummelle (husband Jared) and her great grandson Ethan Wade Saigeon Corman of Lethbridge Alberta. She is also survived by many friends that she made over the years from the Royal Inland Hospital, the Sun Peaks Antique Ski Club and from the CUPE union. 

Audrey worked in Health Care all of her life. She started in 1948 and worked first at Tranquille and then at the Royal Inland Hospital. She worked at the Royal Inland for 32 years as a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN). The majority of time she worked in the Nursery and the Post-Partum Unit (3 South). She loved to bundle those babies up, all on their same side in the transfer buggy and take them out to their mothers. She was a very conscientious and hard-working nurse, and she never went home without ensuring that all of her patients were well looked after. She was one of those hands-on nurses who would always go the second mile. Audrey retired from her caring career in 1992. 

Audrey loved to garden and when she lived in Dallas, she had a very big garden that she tended with TLC. She taught me so much about gardening and how to compost and get the biggest and best produce. I particularly remember her carrots; she would grow 6 rows of them and then we would juice them and drink the juice right away or it turned black. We drank so much of it that we often would end up with an orange tint to our skin. Audrey was an amazing baker and the 3 South Cookbook is full of her recipes. She collected good recipes and usually included one or two of them when she sent me a Christmas card. My old cookbook still has her name beside 20 or more recipes. 

Audrey was amazing at sewing and quilting. She put together some beautiful quilts, wall hangings, placemats and Christmas ornaments. My kids still like to hang up those ornaments at Christmas and remember that they came from Auntie Audrey. 

Later in her life, Audrey took up skiing and went at it with a passion. It seemed like every time she had days off, she was off on a trip up to Sun Peaks on Todd Mountain or Harper’s Mountain. She met some amazing people when she was on the slopes and skied right up until March of 2021 when she was 91 years old. She once confided to me that she loved to sit in the warm lounge and visit almost as much as she liked skiing. She is well remembered by the Sun Peaks’ Antique Group of skiers. 

Audrey was very adventurous and loved to travel all over the world. She made sure that she did not miss any of the sights that were available on the tour and at the end of the day, she loved to sit and have a glass of wine, and she would inevitably nod off for a bit. She told me that her favorite spot that she visited was Iceland, but Ireland was a close second. 

Audrey was a good friend and mentor. She will be missed for her passion and enthusiasm for life. She was a strong supporter of the Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops and the Hemophilia Society and always contributed to them whenever she could. I still have 4 of those big Hemophilia coloring books that she sold for fundraising. 

A Celebration of Audrey’s life will take place on April 3, 2025, at 11:00 a.m. at the Hills of Peace Lutheran Church in Kamloops. Pastor Jane Gingrich will be officiating. A light luncheon will follow the service and following that Audrey will be interred in the grave site with her beloved Cecil and Roy at the Kamloops Cemetery. 

Donations in her memory may be made to the Hemophilia Society of Canada (625 avenue du President-Kennedy, bureau 505, Montreal Quebec, H3A 1K2) or the Royal Inland Hospital (311 Columbia St., Kamloops B.C. V2C2T1) 

You may offer a message of condolence at Schoening Funeral Service for the Saigeon family.   

• Date : 2025-01-21
• Location : Kamloops