Coleen Marie Sheward

SHEWARD, Coleen Marie passed away suddenly on September 25, 2007 at the age of 59 years. Born January 28, 1948 in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan she was the first child born to Eileen & Lorne Lewis of Baildon. Coleen attended elementary school at Baildon and then was bussed into Moose Jaw to Riverview Collegiate for her highschool years and began working for Sasktel as a telephone operator after graduation.

Coleen married Raymond John Sheward at Minto United Church June 22, 1968. Coleen then joined in with Ray’s love of Stock Car Racing and the couple both started to race, Coleen in the powerderpuff division, and won her female driver of the year her first year driving, which explained her driving. This began the couple’s involvement with the Moose Jaw Exhibition Company. Coleen took time off to raise two children – Wanda Elaine and Michael Raymond. Once the kids were in school Coleen started working at Riley & McCormick’s Tack Store in the newly built Town ‘N’ Country Mall on the old Exhibition Grounds. Ray and Coleen bought their first race horse Roaming Pense in 1973 and they began their involvement in the sport of Harness Racing. Coleen ended up getting her grooms license and then a trainers license with the Canadian Trotting Association and the formation began of Sheward Stables. Coleen cared for a stable of 8 race horses and did everything from feeding warm bran mash all winter and jogging behind the truck to legging them up before a race. She helped oversee along with her husband Ray the building of the Golden Mile Raceway. They worked diligently to get the track rating to a “A track” which was the best in Saskatchewan. When Ray became president of the Moose Jaw Exhibition Company for his first term she became the Concession Manager operating a full concession out of a hole in the wall in the Golden Mile Arena which has now become the maintenance room. She oversaw the blueprints for the new concessions being built in the Golden Mile Arena with the Corral Room and the new concession in the Golden Nugget Casino and continued on as the Concession manager after Ray’s terms as president. She was also a little league fan taking Mike to the Oriole’s games and honking the horn to cheer on the team. She was involved with Wanda and the Golden Mile Pacers 4-H Light Horse Club both as a unit leader and a General leader for several years, running achievement days, provincial shows, regional shows and auction sales. She campaigned for the Heart and Stroke Foundation and volunteered with any association that would call her asking for help. She was part of the local non organized neighbourhood watch and would make sure all neighbours were contacted if there was a stranger lurking nearby or to see that the neighbour would safely cross the street before closing her door. She cared for an ailing mother and mother-in-law and was willing to run at the drop of a hat whether it was trips to the cancer clinic in Regina or a ride to an acquaintances funeral. She helped Wanda and Herb hand pick their broodmare band to start their horse herd and would make sure to save the best seats at the auction sales so they’d have lots of room to bid and get the best ones. She helped Wanda water horses at the farm only 3 days before she passed away. She was a cheerleader for all grandchildren’s events and her license plate even reads“Ask Me About My Grandchildren”, being proud of Ivy, Logan and Will whenever they scored a soccer goal or ran the bases during baseball, skated a quick speedskating lap or dove off the diving board. She loved all animals from cuddling the cute little orange kittens at Wanda’s house to the fish her friend had given her – “Peek & Boo”. She was a backyard veterinarian and was often called in to see if she had an opinion that differed from the local veterinarians, or if there was a new technique she would use on a wounded horse. She surprised many a person with her home remedies, homemade leg wash to tighten that dropped tendon, leg sweats for that bowed tendon or pepper and flour to clot an open wound and relished in fixing rips in ears and tears on shoulders with crazy glue, she’d say “it gives like the real skin and won’t tear like stitches”. We have a few pets that have had the crazy glue treatment over the years. She enjoyed taking a race horse no one could do anything with and getting it to the winners circle and was able to do such on many occasions with her horses selling for $1 more than dad’s just to show him her’s was better. She challenged the blacksmiths on angles and trims to make sure every horse was set just right. She had wanted a new microwave once when we were racing in 1981 in Manitoba and dad took her microwave money to a race horse sale needless to say we ended up with a new race horse that mom gave the barn name of “microwave”. She’ll be sadly missed by various horse associations and has touched everyone in the
equine industry through some part, she believed in getting a good education for equine people and helping youth any way she could. She took on a short stint as a Pampered Chef Consultant with the supervision of daughter-in-law Marci to help sell the product, she enjoyed Marci selling the products and holding the shows and would only give people her opinion saying “these new Pampered Chef pots are the best on the market, better snag yourself a set now while they still have some”, or conveying Marci’s name to someone for a party idea. She jumped on board with another crazy scheme of Wanda’s and they opened a tack store 9 years ago named Gee-Haw Feed and Tack just inside the Golden Mile Arena and enjoyed telling people that she named the company and what it meant. She would drive through the new Tim-Horton’s and get a double double and a cruller every morning on her way to work at Gee-Haw and laughed at the staff that knew her voice and would say is that one or two today. Gee-Haw was a perfect place for Coleen, she liked to visit and argue the best prices with the salesmen and see all the equine lovers far and wide during shows or stopping in for a coffee as it seemed to be the new coffee hangout. She was the go to person for horse knowledge with no escape at Gee-Haw and people would often test her knowledge on a variety of areas or challenger her with a request to try and get a certain product, before long she would track it down and would have it in the store, she was carrying a supply of some products that no one else in Saskatchewan sold and most recently was contacted by a few veterinarians to try and get some information from her on a new product she had that their clients enjoyed to which she would say “Well, if I told you where I got if from then why would they buy it from me?”, so there were very few trade secrets that would slip by her. The Coffee crowd will surely miss her as her latest lobby was for the new washrooms in the arena, a pride and joy of hers in the last year. She spend many a year driving combine for the Lewis brothers farming operation as well as doing chores and halter breaking colts with friends at the Rafter C Ranch at Caron. She showed her beloved palomino quarter horse Skip Poco Jet (Pal) in the amateur division at the Saskatchewan Quarter Horse shows in open and amateur halter and rode with Wanda and Penny in the Family Classes at fairs when not in the horse show parents class. She started the Harvest Horse Show in Moose Jaw and was the announcer for the Eyebrow Fair since it’s inseption exept for this year when she had to babysit Gee-Haw during an arabian show, she announced during many horse shows and would always adlib during the quiet times. She enjoyed making background noise during trail classes as she always figured they put people to sleep so over the intercom you would here da dump da dump da dump da dump, she enjoyed doing grooming demonstrations for youth and. She enjoyed oil painting, horseback riding, gardening, cookbook collecting, visiting with her friends,neighbours and playing the piano. She won many awards for her volunteer involvement as a founding member of the Moose Jaw Hometown and Golden Mile Harvest Rodeo Committees, Moose Jaw Exhibition Company Volunteer of the Year, Western Canadian Fairs Volunteer of the Year and Moose Jaw Exhibition Company Director of the Year.

Coleen was predeceased by her father Lorne and Mother Eileen Lewis, sister Elaine, father-in-law Jack Sheward, Son-in-law Herb White and too many relatives to begin to mention. She leaves to mourn her husband of 39 years Ray of Moose Jaw, son Michael (Marci) Sheward and grandchildren Ivy, Logan and Will of Moose Jaw, daughter Wanda of Eyebrow, Sask. sister Penny Lewis (Keith Fraser) or Esterhazy, brother Murray Lewis of Baildon, mother-in-law Thelma Sheward of Providence Place, along with a vast number friends and acquaintances. Memorial services will be held on Tuesday, October 2 at 2:00pm. Hillcrest Apostolic Church, Moose Jaw Sk. Those so wishing may make a donation can make it to the Heart and Stroke Foundation or the Canadian Cancer Society.