Maridee Patricia Skidmore

In loving memory of Maridee Patricia Skidmore.

Maridee Skidmore, aka, “Mar,” passed away September 27th at age 71. She was born in New Westminster on March 17th, 1951, to parents Pat and Bill Fletcher. She had an older sister, Carla and a baby sister Sherry (Bradley). As a child, “Mar” was full of fun and antics. She was quite the little daredevil, accumulating numerous scrapes, bruises, and injuries along the way. In early photos, she resembles a tiny, adorable two-fisted urchin. Maridee’s childhood summers included family camping trips to the Caribou, Vancouver Island, White Rock, and Peachland.  

When she was six, we started spending summers at our aunt and uncle’s cabin near Peachland. We all loved swimming, boating, water skiing, beach combing, horseshoes, ping-pong, lively conversations, exploring the hills, swinging on the rope, throwing sticks for numerous dogs, and lazing around on the dock.  

During her teenage years, Maridee followed in the footsteps of her dad (Bill) and uncle (Mel) who were both Masons and became a Job’s Daughter. Years later, she said it taught her self-confidence, a certain amount of poise, and a smidgen of good manners. She was also a star athlete in several sports, winning many track and field awards.  

When she was 19, she backpacked around Europe for a year with best friends, Corrine, and Cathy. They stayed in hostels and shared many exciting adventures. In 1972, Maridee was dating Lloyd Clifford Skidmore and they spent the year travelling around Mexico in a van.  They were married in 1973.  Their sons, Nathan and Cory, were born in 1975 and 1978. In her late 20’s, she and Sherry enjoyed playing on a women’s soccer team together. In 1998, the family moved to the Peachland property and built their dream home on a bluff overlooking the lake.   

Lloyd and Maridee made a lot of friends in the Okanagan.  In the summers, people would pull up to the dock in their boats and honk to let the Skidmores know they had arrived.  Maridee and Lloyd also joined the Legion where her dad, Bill, oversaw the scholarship and bursary program. In 2007 Lloyd fell off his boat and drowned during a freak windstorm.  The whole family was devastated but “Mar” was shattered to her core. The following years were extremely difficult for her as she never really came to terms with his death.   

Maridee was diagnosed with cancer in June 2021 and fought a long, difficult battle, never giving up hope. “Mar” had always been a worrier but during these past few months, layers of stress and anxiety just melted away.  She became mellow for the first time in her life.   

The Maridee we will always remember was spunky, feisty, funny, entertaining, stubborn, passionate, quirky, energetic, lively, endearing, sturdy and tough. She loved her husband and her boys, her granddaughter, Kirsten and was thrilled when great-granddaughter, Anna, was born.  Towards the end, she got to meet Anna’s baby sister, Stella. She also had two nieces, Ashley (James Ross) and Courtney Bedwell. 

Because Maridee’s birthday was March 17th, she always thought she was Irish.  She could be moody at times, and as her friends and family could tell you, she had a bit of a fiery temper.  Here’s to a lovely Irish lass that’s off to the emerald green hills of heaven. 

The family would like to thank Carla for her unwavering devotion to caring for Maridee.