Obituary of Ardeth Qu'appelle Sklinchar

Ardeth Qu’Appelle Sklinchar
May 10, 1923 – June 28, 2024

Ardeth Sklinchar (nee Boughton) passed away peacefully in Saskatoon on June 28, 2024. She was 101.  

Ardeth was born in Fort San, Saskatchewan in the beautiful Qu’Appelle Valley on May 10, 1923. Her father, Dr. Harvey Boughton (Margaret) was superintendent of the Fort San Tuberculosis Sanitorium when Ardeth was born. Her middle name is a testament to the importance of the valley to the Boughton family.

Ardeth moved to Saskatoon with her family when her father was appointed superintendent of the Saskatoon Tuberculosis Sanitorium in 1925. She attended King George Public School and Bedford Road Collegiate. Ardeth followed in her father’s medical footsteps and attained her Diploma in Nursing at City Hospital in Saskatoon in 1946. She worked at City Hospital for a year and then moved to Oakland, California to pursue a six-month course in Post Graduate Operating Room Training at Kaiser Hospital. Ardeth ended up living in Oakland for over 50 years. She worked at Oakland Medical Center (Kaiser) from 1949 to 1955 and then at Providence Hospital, also in Oakland, from 1955 until her retirement in 1970. After retirement, Ardeth stayed active in the medical field through volunteer work. She was chairperson of volunteers with the American Red Cross at the US Naval Hospital in Oakland for nineteen years.

It was during her time at Providence that Ardeth met Joseph Norman Sklinchar, a US Navy veteran and Marine Hospital Corpsman. They married on June 27, 1964 in Oakland, California and continued to reside there for the rest of Norman’s life. They enjoyed living in Oakland and had many family visitors over the years. A trip to Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco was always on the schedule when family came around. Ardeth and Norman also travelled to Canada several times over the years to visit Ardeth’s family. In later years, they stayed at home working on their garden and enjoying their retirement.

Norman passed away in 1997. After his passing Ardeth decided to “go back home” to Saskatchewan. In 1999, she moved to Regina to live with her brother Glenn and his wife Shirley, while awaiting an opening in the Luther Tower retirement community in Saskatoon. She moved into her suite in Luther Tower in 2001. She was a member of the Luther Tower community until 2021 when she moved into Circle Drive Care Home after a bad fall, resulting in limited mobility and the need for higher care. It was the wonderful staff at Circle Drive who cared for Ardeth in her final days.

Ardeth was the Boughton family historian and keeper of many family records. Her work on both Boughton and Rayner family records is extensive and has been passed on to her niece and Goddaughter, Wendy, who continues to work on the records. Ardeth was also an avid gardener, knitter and embroiderer. Her hand-knitted slippers still grace the feet of family members. In recent years she became an expert at word search puzzles and spent mornings happily engrossed in her searches.

Ardeth was the last of her generation. She was predeceased by her sisters, Rhonda and Lorraine, who both passed away earlier this year at 105 and 103 respectively, and her brothers John (1925-2011) and Glenn (1931-2019). She is survived by 16 nieces and nephews, their spouses, children, and grandchildren.

There will be no public memorial service for Ardeth. Her family will lay her ashes to rest in the family plot at Woodlawn Cemetery in Saskatoon, Tuesday, July 30, 2024 at 11:00 am. For those wishing to attend please meet at the cemetery gates at 10:45 am.

The family wishes to thank the wonderful staff at Circle Drive Care Home for their care of Ardeth and a very special thanks to cousin Betty Anderson, a true angel on earth, for her loving attention, her numerous visits and her spiritual support.