Obituary of Thelma Pepper

 

Thelma Vivian (Stevens) Pepper

July 28, 1920 – Dec. 1, 2020

 

 

Thelma Vivian Pepper, age 100, passed away peacefully December 1, 2020.  Thelma was born July 28, 1920 in Kingston, Nova Scotia, in the beautiful lumber and apple producing Annapolis Valley, to Lester and Mabel Stevens.

 

Thelma was the beloved mother of Bob, Phyllis (Mike), Ron (Lou), and Gord (Christal); an incredible role model grandmother of Jim (Amy), Bethan, Natalie, Jenny and Olivia and the very proud great grandmother of Henry. Thelma was predeceased by her devoted husband Jim, sisters Phyllis and Frances and brother Jack.

 

Thelma’s parents and grandparents had a major influence on Thelma during her childhood years. Grandfather Seward owned a lumber business and father Lester and mother Mable ran a general store in Kingston and they taught her the life values she exhibited for the rest of her life – values of hard work, self-discipline, honesty and quality. Her father Lester was crazy about photography, nature and history and had a huge influence on Thelma in these areas.  Her childhood was full of wonderful car outings taking pictures, playing tennis, visiting historical sites, hiking in the alpine woods and wading in the ice-cold waters of the Bay of Fundy

 

Thelma received a scholarship to attend Acadia University (B.Sc. 1941) and McGill University  (M.Sc. 1943) where she played on the university tennis team. While at McGill she was attracted to one of her lab students, a chemistry Ph.D. candidate Jim Pepper. On one of his lab assignments she said he could do better! They were married in the Annapolis valley in 1945 just as WWII came to an end, and they spent the next 58 years together. Jim was offered an associate professor position at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon where for the next 30 years, Thelma’s focus was on supporting Jim, raising four children, and thoroughly enjoying learning about the birds, flowers and history of Saskatchewan. A sabbatical to Sweden, Natural History Society excursions, dedicated attendance and teaching at the United Church and many wonderful summers spent at the family cottage in Prince Albert National Park (attending to four children with no running water and a wood stove!) were highlights of this time. Thelma was determined to have her children develop a love of reading through good books. As president of the children’s PAC, she oversaw the creation of the city’s first school library where children had access to good books - anytime.

 

It was a terrible feeling for Thelma when all the children left home. In her research on depression she learned that it was sometimes caused by not believing in yourself. At 60 years of age, she tried reading to pioneer women at a local extended care home. It was exciting for Thelma to see them so happy telling their life stories. It was a natural thing for her to try and capture this personal enjoyment with a photograph like her father and grandfather had done before her.  She often heard “I never liked a picture of myself, but somehow this one pleases me.” That experience with the pioneer women started a second career that consumed her and gave Thelma great personal satisfaction. With the support of the Saskatoon Camera Club and the Photographer’s Gallery, Thelma produced four major photography exhibitions over the next 30 years that toured across Saskatchewan, Canada and Europe. In a pre-digital era, Thelma did all the photograph printing herself, a skill she learned from her father in the Kingston house bathroom that doubled as a darkroom. Her panorama photographs captured the emptiness but beauty of the prairie landscape and towns. A common theme for all the work was a celebration of the dignity and happiness that exists in everyone including pioneer women, the disadvantaged and the elderly. Her work celebrated the uniqueness, spirit and history of Saskatchewan people. For her unique contributions, Thelma received many awards including The Saskatchewan Arts Board Lifetime Achievement Award (2014) and the Saskatchewan Order of Merit (2018).

 

Thelma worked actively on her photography until the age of 92 when her energy and determination allowed her to fully recover from open heart surgery. She was so happy in her final years learning about her grandchildren’s activities, discussing politics and economics, reading biographies, and forever learning about the life stories of others.

 

Thelma truly lived an honest, hardworking and engaged life. She was an incredible role model for anyone that met her. She will be dearly, dearly missed by her family

.

 

“I really believe that your brain is a bowl of energy.  If you activate that brain through doing something creative, it gives you wonderful energy.”  Thelma

 

 

In lieu of flowers, the family welcomes support for any of the following groups that Thelma was actively involved with.

 

1. Creative Kids - Saskatchewan
Tel: 306.780.9452 Email: gwalsh@saskculture.ca  

2. Remai Modern - Saskatoon 
https://remaimodern.org/join-and-support
(306) 975-7610
info@remaimodern.org

3. Sherbrooke Community Centre - Saskatoon
(306) 655-3600
https://www.sherbrookecommunitycentre.ca/get-involved/donate/

 

 

A celebration of life for Thelma Pepper is planned for spring/summer 2021 in Saskatoon. The celebration will coincide with Thelma’s upcoming photography exhibition at the Remai Modern.