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Lorene Harris Rome passed away peacefully on July 10, 2009 at Central Okanagan Hospice House in Kelowna, B.C. after a brief and courageous battle with cancer. She is survived by her loving family, son Bob Harris, daughter Marilee O’Neil (Gerry) siblings Pat Hernstedt (Lawrence), Tom A. Windt (Dauna), Bob Windt (Doris), grandchildren Tammy McClelland and Scott McClelland, and great-grandchildren Darcy Parker, Jared Jackson and Pearl McClelland. She will be lovingly remembered by her cousins, nieces, nephews and a wide circle of friends.

Lorene was predeceased by her first husband Howard Harris in 1983, her mother Alice Windt in 1984, her father Tom E. Windt in 1985, her second husband Jack Rome in 1992, and her grandaughter Tracey Jackson in 2009.

Lorene was born and raised in Quesnel, B.C. She completed senior high school in Kamloops and went on to become a Registered Nurse there at the Royal Inland Hospital. She later worked as a nurse in Vancouver hospitals and married Howard in 1947. They moved back to Quesnel in the early 1950s and Lorene did some nursing at GR Baker Memorial Hospital and the Holley Clinic. From the mid-sixties to the early seventies, she owned and operated The Cariboo Craft Shop and took great pleasure in encouraging and supporting Cariboo artisans.

Family gatherings brought her great joy, especially when family musicians “jammed”, and she thrived on the outdoors, fishing, sking, and especially golfing with Jack, who she married in 1987. She was an adventurer and delighted in cruising the seas and traveling through foreign countries. She loved to correspond with her “Third World sons and daughters“ she sponsored for many years through World Vision.

Lorene took an active interest in her local community and was a member of the Dragon Lake Women’s Institute and The Quesnel Naturalist Club. She was a director of the Baker Creek Enhancement Society and an instrumental team member in organizing the Quesnel Support Branch of Osteoporosis Canada.

Her kind, warm and generous nature left a lasting impression on everyone she met. She was an inspiration to many and will be remembered for her postive outlook on life.

In her final days, Lorene displayed grace, courage and strength and found comfort and joy in visits from her family and friends who travelled to see her. At Lorene’s request there will be no funeral service. A Celebration of Life for the family will be held at a later date.

The family wishes to thank the medical staff at Kelowna General Hospital, the Community Care nurses and support staff, and nursing staff and volunteers at Central Okanagan Hospice House. A special thanks to her daughter Marilee and son-inlaw Gerry who made her final months comfortable in their Kelowna home.

In lieu of flowers, donations would be appreciated and can be made in Lorene’s memory to the Hospice

Unit of Quesnel & District Paliative Care Society,

P.O. Box 4537, Quesnel, B.C., V2J 2J8, or to the

Canadian Cancer Society.