April 11, 1952 - July 31, 2022
In loving memory ~
In the early hours of July 31, 2022, one of the brightest lights in our lives went out. Shelley Mitchell, 70, passed away in her home with her daughters and her partner by her side. Shelley is survived by her partner of 32 years, Steve Mitchell, her daughters Erynn Warr (George), Cherrie Carr (Allen), her step-daughter Melanie (Jason) and her beloved grandchildren Mason, Shea, Jude, Odin and Molly. She also leaves behind her three brothers, Mark, Lance and Shawn Poole, her nieces and nephews, her best friend Brit Olynick and many others who were fortunate enough to have known her over the years.
Shelley was born to the late Donald and Betty Poole at Grace Hospital in Vancouver, BC, on April 11, 1952. She was the only girl in a family of rambunctious boys; she spent the earliest years of her childhood in Vancouver, spending summers collecting shells on Long Beach on the West Coast of Vancouver Island. In 1961, when Shelley was 9 years old, her family relocated to Williams Lake; they were seeking a more rural lifestyle, and they found it in the Cariboo.
In the Cariboo, Shelley found herself at home. A country kid at heart, she loved riding her horse with her friends, swimming and perfecting her diving technique in Chimney Lake, playing sports, playing with a menagerie of family dogs and cats, and exploring the hills around Williams Lake. Always an athlete, Shelley competed in barrel racing in the Williams Lake Stampede on her horse Sinba; she was an avid figure skater and skier in the winter months, and placed 8th overall in figure skating at the BC Winter Games when she was a teenager. Shelley attended both Williams Lake Junior Secondary and Columneetza Senior Secondary, and like many other teens in her day she could be found cruising main street in her dad's big pick-up or hanging out at the Maple Leaf Restaurant when she wasn't in school.
In the late 1960s, Shelley met and married Mark Carr; a young hippy from Toronto, he had somehow found himself in the dusty town of Williams Lake. In the early 1970s, Shelley and Mark, along with Shelley's parents Don and Betty Poole, and her brother Mark Poole and his wife Rene, decided to purchase the Spirit Ranch at Big Creek in the Chilcotin. For this period in Shelley's life she was a pioneer, living off the land, packing water from the river, and helping to build a log house. Shelley loved this period in her life; she was by nature a hard worker, and she took great joy in planting her garden, milking her cows, hunting and riding, and tending to her chickens. It was during this time that Shelley and Mark's daughters were born, Erynn in 1972 followed by Cherrie in 1974. Shelley loved being a part of the Big Creek community, playing ice hockey on Sundays, attending school Christmas concerts, and celebrating Halloween and New Years at the old hall with all her friends and neighbours. When money got tight, Shelley started working as a dental assistant at the Cariboo Dental Clinic during the week and coming home on the weekends. When they decided to sell the ranch in 1983, Shelley and Mark spent some time moving around to places like Riske Creek, Sheep Creek, and Williams Lake before settling on the Soda Creek Ranch (now Fraser River Ranch) in Soda Creek in 1987. They divorced in 1989, and so began another chapter in Shelley's life.
Shelley married Steve Mitchell in 1993. They lived at Rose Lake and in and around Horsefly for the next 24 years, and Shelley worked at Clarkes General Store in Horsefly. This period in Shelley's life was a good one; she and Steve build a cabin overlooking the junction at Quesnel Lake, and they spent many summers exploring the lake, boating with friends, and exploring the Cariboo Mountains. When she wasn't adventuring, Shelley was at home in her lovely home on Miller Road, doing another thing she loved and excelled at: cooking! She also had a beautiful garden and she and Steve enjoyed sharing their acres with pigs, a donkey, pheasants and peacocks and any number of other animals at any given time. When Clarkes store changed ownership, Shelley took a job as a camp cook for Hi-Test Logging in Chezacut. Shelley described this as the best job she ever had, being able to do what she loved to make a living. She didn't mind the long hours and early mornings, and kept a lively journal about her time in Chezacut.
In 2015, Shelley decided to work a little less; she and Steve bought an adorable little house on two acres in Wildwood. This move allowed her to be closer to her daughters and her grandchildren and spend time doing the things she loved such as gardening, painting, and baking. It is a testament to Shelley's tenacity and adventurous spirit that she also took up being a "biker chick" during this time in her life. Much to Steve's joy, she decided to try going riding with him on his Harley and loved it.
Around the same time, Shelley took up another new hobby: running. When she was in her early 60s Shelley started training for and running in 5k and 10k events; she absolutely loved running and joined her daughters in many running adventures over the last eight years of her life. Amazingly, she expanded her interest to trail running and participated in a number of gruelling but beautiful trail runs in places around BC including Mt. Robson and the Sole to Sole race in McLeese Lake. When she wasn't running herself, Shelley was her daughter Erynn's biggest cheerleader and roadie for a number of endurance races around the province. Shelley found her heart and soul in running; it was a true passion and brought her such a sense of joy and accomplishment in her life.
Another passion of Shelley's was her grandchildren. She loved them more than life and took great joy in watching them grow. Her greatest sorrow was that she would be leaving them earlier than she planned, before she could see them blossom into full adulthood. The love that she gave will be so missed; the beautiful toffee wreaths and sugar cookie trees she made as Christmas gifts, her beautiful homemade birthday cards, her hugs and her weekend phone calls will all be missed more than anything.
Shelley, our mom, was a strong, beautiful woman who possessed so much integrity and grace. She was kind and humble; she was a true friend and she was the best mom and Nana. Our lives are forever changed by the loss of her. Shelley didn't want a service; instead she asked that we go outside and into the mountains and celebrate her there. Those who loved her are asked to remember her in every sunrise and sunset, in every bubbling stream, in every stunning vista, in every flower, every animal, every running step and in every laugh we hear.
We can do that for you Momma,
we love you and we carry you in our hearts, always.