BRANDT – (Charlotte) Doreen Wilders Brandt passed away July 13, 2024, after a long struggle with dementia. Right to the last, she fought the good fight. In reality, Doreen left us many years ago. We’ll remember her the way she was before. Doreen was born July 21, 1939, in Edmonton. When she was one year old, her family moved to Ponoka where her father owned Wilders Motors Ltd. She loved the rolling green landscape of Central Alberta. In her later years, Doreen would admit she had come to love the stark beauty of the southern Alberta prairie. But a big piece of her heart always remained in Central Alberta, especially at the Wilder’ness family cabin in Gull Lake. That, she always declared, was her favourite place in the world. In 1957, Doreen moved to Edmonton to attend the University of Alberta, graduating with a pharmacy degree in 1960 and winning a national research award for her thesis on the properties of fringe tree bark. Upon graduation, she was too young to practice and apprenticed in Lethbridge until she turned 21. There, her landlady taught her to knit and laid the foundation for a passion for creating and an attention to detail that lasted most of her life. In 1962, Doreen married pharmacy classmate Ron Brandt and in 1963 they moved to Brooks where they owned and operated Brandt Central Drugs Ltd. In 1964, daughter Pam was born followed by Scott in 1966 and Allison in 1969. Starting a new business and raising a young family far from family and friends wasn’t easy. Money was tight; Ron worked long hours and was often on call. Doreen managed the home and started to find her way in a new community. She chaired and served on numerous boards, was active with St. Alban’s Anglican Church, and was a lifelong member of the Helen Chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star. She co-chaired the Brooks Fall Fair, usually volunteering the entire family to help hang quilts. We called the rocking chair in the living room her “office” as she spent long hours there on the phone organizing, leading, and listening. Doreen was selfless in her service to others. She was always there for family, friends and the community, showing her care through doing and not expecting anything in return. In 1991, Ron and Doreen’s contributions were recognized when they were named Citizens of the Year. Long nights sewing Halloween and skating carnival costumes, making rag dolls and quilts for the grandkids, tinting coconut for cut-up birthday cakes. Sunday and holiday dinners and card games, camping trips with the Schalms, eating cucumbers straight from the garden, declaring them “food for the gods”. Planting her garden with military precision (a ruler was involved) and reaping its bounty for the winter ahead. These are the seemingly simple things that together made Doreen’s life rich and remarkable. As a mother, she, like Ron, rarely gave advice—trusting they would be asked when input was needed. It was a great gift that built confidence and grit in their children and gave them the courage to try and sometimes fail. When Ron died too soon of cancer in 2006, Doreen wasn’t the same. Her partner in life—her best friend and biggest supporter—was gone and a big part of her died with him. We will remember her ready laugh, her famous Rice Krispie squares, her love of dancing, friends and family. She was always up for an ice cream cone, an off-the-beaten path road trip or dinner at the latest Calgary restaurant. Doreen was predeceased by her husband, Ron, parents Jack and Charlotte Wilders, sister Jacquie Tiltgen, brother-in-law Ron Weatherill, and nephew Ryan Tiltgen. She is survived by daughters, Pam (Gord Paynter) and Allison (Chris McRobbie) and their son Brody; son Scott (Kari) and their children, Jenna (Landon, Maia, Hunter Feser), Nicole (Brett Murphy) and Mark; sister Sheila Weatherill, brother-in-law Bob Tiltgen, and sister-in-law Barbara (Doug) Thorne, as well as nieces Claire Dion and Shanna Jaap and nephews Stuart Weatherill, Dean Tiltgen, Shawn Tiltgen and Chris Thorne. We thank the staff at Sunrise Gardens who looked after Doreen for so many years. To Tammy Fowler, a special thank you for the hours of companionship you provided. There will be a private family memorial at a later date. If friends desire, memorial tributes may be made to the Alzheimer Society, #101, 1201 Kingsway Ave SE
Medicine Hat, Alberta T1A 4J6 or the Canadian Cancer Society, No. 102, 1865 Dunmore Road S.E., Medicine Hat, Alberta T1A 1Z8.
