FERNIE
It is with sadness we announce the passing of Isabel “Bella” Marie (MacDougall) Fernie, aged 86, on January 11th, 2026, in Calgary, Alberta after a brief illness. Isabel was born March 14th, 1939, in Inverness. She was the second of six children of Bernard and Martha MacDougall, and their only daughter. They lived in company houses, first in the “Red Rows” and then up on Hillcrest Street. At school there many Isabels in her class, so the teacher named her Bella. After graduation, Isabel attended teachers’ college and became an elementary school teacher. She taught in the Inverness area for several years, and then, like many Cape Bretoners, she left “home” and moved to Toronto, ON. In 1969, she went on a blind date with a petroleum engineer working in Sarnia, ON, named Ken Fernie. She married him in Toronto the following year, and it was in Sarnia where their two daughters, Anne and Patricia, were born. The family moved to southwest Calgary, AB, in 1978. Isabel couldn’t teach in Alberta without a university degree, so she took a position as a teacher’s aide at St. Benedict’s Elementary School, where her girls attended. She was an active member of Holy Spirit Parish, where she attended regularly and was part of the CWL. She made many precious lifelong friends at work, at church, in the neighbourhood, and through Ken’s work. Every July, Isabel took Anne and Patricia back home to Inverness to stay at the house on Hillcrest Street, where she would become Bella again, and there the girls were referred to as Bella’s girls. She loved spending those summers in the town where she knew everyone’s story. Helping her parents when they were alive, spending time with her brothers and their families, and seeing her daughters together with their cousins year after year meant so much to her, as did being surrounded by their Gaelic history, language, dancing, and music. In recent years, she took delight in the changes that have taken place in and around the town. When her daughters started attending university, Isabel decided it was her time to also enroll at the University of Calgary. She graduated from there with a bachelor’s degree in religious studies at age 54, was finally qualified to teach, and spent many happy years substitute teaching in South Calgary. Isabel loved playing card games, and anyone who ever played with her knows she could be a fierce competitor. For many years, she and Ken participated in an annual auction tournament among the Cape Breton community in Calgary. When her grandchildren came along, she was a fun, kind, loving, generous grandmother – until they were old enough to play cards, and then they had to fend for themselves. Isabel’s faith was a constant source of strength and peace throughout her life. She attended mass in person, and more recently, online, and kept countless people in her prayers. Isabel will be deeply missed. She loved her family, and she loved her friends like they were family. She celebrated everyone’s achievements, and she was devastated by anyone’s losses. She had an open door for anyone who had time for a cup of tea or, yes, of course, a game of cards. Isabel is survived by her husband, Ken, her daughters, Anne Simpson (Craig) of Fort McMurray, AB, and Patricia Bass (James) of London, UK, as well as her grandchildren, Cooper, Cleo, Betty, and Sam. She is also survived by two brothers, Harold (Louella) of Qualicum Beach, BC, and Joseph “Joe Page” (Sheila) of Chéticamp, NS. She was predeceased by her parents, John and Martha MacDougall, and her three brothers, John (Ann) , Malcolm (Sheila), and Laughlin “Lauchie” (Sherry). Funeral mass was held at Holy Spirit Catholic Church (10827 24th Street SW, Calgary, AB) on Monday, January 19th, 2026, at 11:00 a.m. Isabel was laid to rest with a view of the Rocky Mountains at Eden Brook Cemetery, Calgary.