Edna Metta Crowell

Edna Metta Crowell (née Nielsen), beloved wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and great-great-grandmother, passed away peacefully, surrounded by family, on November 12, 2026, one day after her 94th birthday.

Born on Remembrance Day, November 11, 1932, Edna Nielsen was raised on the family farm just north of Peers, Alberta. It was there, as a sixteen-year-old at the coffee counter of the general store, that she caught the eye of Al Crowell, a young lineman with MacGregor Electric who was bringing party-line telephone service to rural Alberta. Three years of letters, phone calls and dates while they both worked in Edmonton followed, and Edna and Alton Roswell Crowell were married in July 1952.

Edna and Al settled in the Calder neighbourhood of north Edmonton, where their family grew to six children in nine years. In addition to the immense task of raising the 6 children, Edna volunteered with the Calder Community League. In 1969, Edna and Al moved their family west of the city, to Spruce Grove — then a small community of fewer than 1,000 people. Here Edna, in addition to maintaining the home, worked as secretary for the Spruce Grove Chamber of Commerce and as a reporter for the Spruce Grove Examiner. She was an active member of the Liberal Party.

Over the years, Edna watched Spruce Grove grow into a city of more than 45,000. A fall took the use of her legs, and in 2021, in the midst of Covid, she moved into Lynnwood Continuing Care in Edmonton, where she lived out her remaining years.

Edna was predeceased by her husband Al Crowell (December 2014), her parents Edna Nielsen (née Matthews) and Chris Nielsen, and all her siblings -- Floyd Gardner, Marjorie Wilson, Alta Radcliffe, Harold Gardner, Chris Nielsen and Bodil McCue.

She is survived by her children -- Jim Crowell (Lynne Pajot), Pat Stephenson (Jim), Warren, Greg (Cathy), Randy (Kathy) and Bodie (Guy); twelve grandchildren; twenty great-grandchildren; and one great-great-grandchild.

The family extends heartfelt thanks to the staff of CapitalCare Lynnwood for their compassionate attention and care to our mother over the past five years.

Instead of a funeral, a memorial service will be held in the spring of 2027, at a place and date to be announced. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the charity of your choice. Edna (Mom) is deeply missed and will be forever remembered.