Grant and Roseanne purchased their home in Canmore in September, 1992. Because of the beauty of this area, Roseanne was most anxious to move here as soon as possible. Grant was employed as a captain with the Fire Department for the City of Edmonton and due to his shifts it was possible that the move for Roseanne would work. Every ten days, Grant was able to come down to Canmore for six days. It was a wonderful way to make a gradual transition for the inevitable retirement which was in the back of both of their minds.
Grant and Roseanne (nee Blaeser) were born and raised in the Central Alberta communities of Strome and Heisler.They are both from large families. Grant is the fifth child of ten children born to Catharine and Peter Tarnowski and Roseanne is the eldest of nine children born to Francis and Evelyn Blaeser. They moved to Edmonton in 1959 and 1961 respectively were and married in 1963. Roseanne worked for the CNR for her first job and Grant was employed by the City of Edmonton.
They have two children: Pernell, who is married to Sue-Lin Soh, and Alison, whose lifelong partner is Larry Brown. Pernell and Sue-Lin have two boys, Arie and Tristan, and they live in Ucluelet, B.C. where Pernell is working as a park warden for Pacific Rim Parks and Sue-Lin has her own interior design business. Alison is employed by the City of Edmonton and has been working there for fifteen years and Larry works as a mechanic. Alison’s passion is her pets and Larry’s is restoring vintage automobiles.
Roseanne enrolled at the University of Alberta in 1974 and obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Home Economics in 1978. Subsequently she was employed by the Government of Alberta, Dominion Textile, Inc. and Cosmair Canada Inc. Upon moving to Canmore, Roseanne’s main focus was her love of textiles and quilting and she was one of the core group of women who established the Mountain Cabin Quilters Guild. She was the founding president for that group.
Grant’s career took him through the path of firefighter to captain on his retirement. The camaraderie and challenges of the job are what he misses the most from his working career but he has made many new friends since moving to Canmore. He has become active in curling, a passion he has had for many years.
Grant and Roseanne both enjoy playing bridge and have met many wonderful people as a result of playing Duplicate Bridge and belonging to the Hospital Bridge group. Five years ago, Roseanne opened the Quilter’s Inn Bed and Breakfast. It has been a wonderful experience for both of them as they have met and made friends with people from all over the world. One of her first guests was a woman from Australia who was registered under the name of Lady so-and-so. For days prior to her arrival Roseanne was worried about how this would turn out. She was a delightful person, eager to share and most humorous. In response to Roseanne’s question as to how she acquired her title her response was, “My dear, I married the right man!” It turned out her husband was the assistant to the Prime Minister and he received a knighthood and she automatically received the title of “Lady”.
We both love living in this community. The natural beauty of the area combined with the interesting and inspiring people of the town make each day one of energy and enthusiasm. We have both been so fortunate to have made this move at this milestone of our lives. We have been truly blessed.
back Pernell and Sue-Lin-Tarnowski, Alison Tarnowski and Larry Brown, front Grant holding Tristan, Roseanne holding Arie, Nov., 1997
In Canmore Seniors at the Summit, ed. Canmore Seniors Association, 2000, p. 287-288.
