Myrtle Varney celebrates her 100th birthday
By Diana Walker
About sixty family and friends gathered at the Oyen & District Seniors Centre on May 18, 2024, to celebrate Myrtle Varney’s 100th birthday (May 17 was actual birthday). One or more of Myrtle’s small paintings graced each table and each table featured a doily crocheted by Myrtle.
Younger daughter Janice Varney welcomed everyone and thanked attendees for joining in the celebration. She read seven citations from dignitaries congratulating Myrtle on this milestone.
From left, Lorna McCallum, birthday girl Myrtle, Janice Varney. Behind: Myrtle’s niece Kathleen Schmalz from East Sooke, BC. Kathleen’s mother Gladys Sirola (Myrtle’s sister) of Victoria will celebrate her 102nd birthday in July.
My wife and I are so pleased to be able to wish you a very happy 100th birthday. May your celebration be filled with joy, fond memories and the love of family and friends. We send you our warmest wishes. — Charles R and Camilla R
Congratulations on your 100th birthday! During your lifetime, the country has undergone some amazing shifts: a tradition from one century to the next. Evolution of technology, society, community. Times of great challenges and great joy. No matter what role you played in the last one hundred years, you have been an essential part of our country and we are grateful for all your contributions. Your experience is valuable and respected, and we can all learn from the wisdom you have shared. In the language of Inuktitut, from South Qikiqtaaluk, nalliuniqsiutsiarit! In English, happy birthday! I wish you a wonderful day filled with happy moments and memories. — Yours sincerely, Mary Simon, Governor General of Canada
My warmest congratulations to you, Myrtle, on celebrating your 100th birthday on May 17, 2024. What an amazing milestone. I can only imagine the incredible memories you have made throughout your life and the many achievements to have to celebrate. My wish for you on your birthday, and every day, is that you are surrounded by love and happiness. — Sincerely, Honourable Danielle Smith, Premier of Alberta
Other wishes were sent by:
Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada
Glen Motz, MP for Medicine Hat-Cardston-Warner
Justin Wright, MLA Cypress-Medicine Hat Constituency (and an Alberta pin)
Linnsie Clark, Mayor of Medicine Hat
Eastern Star members presented Myrtle with a 70-year pin and expressed their gratitude for her many years of service. They also shared that she was a founding charter member of the OEF Serenity Chapter (Oyen).
Myrtle (Doran) Varney, a resident of the Oyen area for most of her life, was born in Oyen in 1924. The middle child, Myrtle grew up on farms her father and grandfather homesteaded with her sisters Gladys and Edith. They attended the public school at Carlyle and high school in Oyen. Her sisters trained as nurses. Myrtle attended a wartime normal course in Calgary and taught in one-room schools at Clinton, north of Coronation; Steadman near Bowden; and Aberdovey west of Silver Heights.
In 1947, she married Edgar Varney of Brownfield. They farmed for two years in that area then moved to the Oyen area.
In the fall of 1951, they purchased a farm northeast of Oyen where they raised three children: Ross (1953-2024), Lorna and Janice. They took their schooling in Oyen.
In 1974, they sold the farm and moved to Oyen.
Town life allowed Myrtle to pursue her artistic desire with a group of interested folks. They formed Studio 9-41 and worked together for more than 30 years. She displayed pictures around Oyen, at the Senior Games, Rosebud, Medicine Hat and the Alberta Art Club Association.
She compiled two calendars: one of elevators from 12 different towns and one of barns from 12 different farms located in the Big Country area.
She won many gold and silver medals for her paintings in various competitions. Her picture of Terry Pearen in a canoe on the Red Deer River in the Badlands toured the province as part of a Centennial Exhibition put together by the Medicine Hat Museum and Art Gallery.
Myrtle moved to Medicine Hat in 2015 to live with her daughter Janice. They come to visit friends in Oyen as often as they can. The community delighted in the fact she chose to celebrate this momentous occasion at the Seniors Centre where Myrtle spent so much time with the Art Club.
She has shared her paintings, large and small, some even on rocks, with family, friends and a much larger community. She recently donated several farm scenes to the Oyen & District Museum.