Libby Shackleton, nee Riddell, middle child of George Saltry Riddell and Bernice Freelove Whynot, died on Novembver 20, 2023, at the age of 84.

Mom was born and spent her early years in mining towns in Northern Ontario, most recognizably Kirkland Lake. She managed, in spite of this and contrary to most of her family, to avoid becoming a hockey fan of any sort whatsoever. Her fearless individuality didn't stop there. Despite the fact that she loved the singing in church, she became a devout atheist at an early age. She somehow did not inherit the red hair gene, and, although she trained as a nurse at Sick Kids hospital in Toronto, (one of two choices offered her for further education by her family), she went on to become an accomplished and respected artist, self trained, but with the guidance of such instructors as Suzanne Hill, Molly Lamb Bobak, and Brigitte Grant.

The nursing training was not completely in vain. One of her fellow trainees had a brother, John Shackleton, who was to become the love of Libby's life. Together they raised three daughters, moving to New Brunswick to do so.

Libby was fiercely creative. She wrote, she sewed, she topped our birthday cakes with the creme anglaise she learned to make from Julia Child's cookbook. The Halloween costumes she helped us create were prize winners every year. She was an artist first and foremost, painting and sculpting likenesses of her family, our pets, the cows on the side of the road, flowers in Dad's garden, prehistoric Welsh megaliths, figures from her imagination and more. She was intelligent, extremely well read, and passionate about many causes, including women's and indigenous rights, and her community.

She was the best kind of mother. Supper wasn't always on time, and she often spent long days in her studio, appearing with blue paint smudged across her nose, but she read to us such works as the Hobbit, the Jungle Book, Anne of Green Gables and Charlotte's Web. She made sure that we all had library cards and access to more than just the children's section. She loved music, and the Blood Sweat and Tears, Cat Stevens and Bob Marley LPs were hers, not ours. She saw us as individuals in our own right, and passed on her creativity, her intelligence and love of life. She was the kind of Mom who, even though she was afraid of snakes, never let us see it, and never made us think twice about handling them, or learning as much as we could about anything and everything that interested us.

Libby was much, much more than will fit into the confines of this obituary. We're going to miss her terribly, but we are also going to be carrying her with us in all the multidimensional aspects of our lives, and for that we will forever be grateful.

Arrangements are in the compassionate care of Chipman Funeral Home & Crematorium (506-339-6612). Memories and condolences may be shared through www.chipmanfuneralhome.ca.