Shelagh passed away peacefully with her husband, Nick and daughter, Krista by her side on July 21, 2022. Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba on October 27, 1944 to Gerald and Evelyn Bell, Shelagh began her career as a Lab Technician at Deer Lodge Hospital.   

She transferred to Whitehorse in 1967, before returning to Winnipeg, then spending time taking blood samples from polar bears in Churchill before returning to Whitehorse.  She made many life-long friends working at Whitehorse General Hospital and enjoyed dancing to the Canucks at the Whitehorse Inn and later at the MacBride Museum.

As many Yukon stories go, she came up for a visit, met the love of her life and the rest is history.  Nick and Shelagh were married in Winnipeg on November 27, 1969 after making the trek from Whitehorse, Shelagh finishing her wedding dress by hand in the car while Nick drove. 

Their daughter, Krista, was born in Whitehorse in 1972 as the family made their home in the Yukon, first living at Kookatsoon and later moving into Whitehorse when the thrill of off-grid living with a young daughter wore off.

Shelagh was an excellent seamstress, sewing clothes and costumes for her family and in exchange for Krista’s piano lessons before she went to work at the Whitehorse Public Library and later the Bank of Montreal. Shelagh went back to school and became a CMA in 1984, working for Health Canada and the Yukon government, retiring as Director of Finance for Health and Social Services in 2004.

Shelagh enjoyed travelling with Nick and a succession of pet huskies, visiting friends and family throughout BC and Alberta or heading east to Manitoba to visit with her brother Brian and wife, Arlene.  Relishing an escape from winter, the duo spent their winter vacations travelling with friends through Arizona, Nevada and New Mexico.  They would drive until they could sit outside in shorts.

Shelagh was a brilliant quilter and her many creations serve as both a comfort and remembrance for her family.  She is survived by her husband Nick, daughter Krista Roske (Jason), granddaughter Kate, Brother Brian Bell and nieces Stephanie and Ainsley.

Small but mighty, she will be forever missed...