Newspaper columnist, author, matriarch dies at 100
Sheila Paynter, the longtime newspaper columnist, author and matriarch of the Paynter family in West Kelowna, has died.
She turned 100 on July 2.
Marci Paynter – Sheila’s daughter-inlaw – wrote on Facebook that Sheila died July 22 after she fell and broke her hip about a week after her birthday.
“She will no longer be in pain,” Marci wrote. “She was an amazing lady and we will all miss her. Rest in peace, Mom, you were a real treasure.”
Sheila wrote a column for Westside Weekly and several books celebrating life on the Westside.
The Paynters also own and operate Paynter’s Fruit Market, and have resided in the valley for decades.
Sheila credited farming for her long life. “I think it is a healthy way to live,” she said in an interview just before she turned 100.
Born at Kelowna General Hospital in 1920 and raised on a farm in Peachland, Sheila (nee McKay) earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology and English at the University of British Columbia.
During the Second World War, Paynter served with the Royal Canadian Air Force, working in a munitions factory in Summerside, P.E.I.
She met her future husband, Henry, while they both attended school in Peachland, but didn’t really get to know him until they were both discharged from service on the same day.
They were married in 1946 and settled into building their farm in Westbank, where they raised six children and enjoyed an active community life.
Throughout her life, Sheila has maintained a passion for words and writing. She wrote poems and stories while attending the historic one-room school house in Peachland and later became a formidable Scrabble player for anyone who would take her on.
In the 1950s she wrote a column for B.C. Farm and Garden and more recently the Slice of Life column for the Westside Weekly.
Sheila taught kindergarten for seven years while her children were growing up. During that time Sheila started a tradition of bringing school children to the farm to learn about how their food is produced.
Sheila has four books to her credit, in which she shares insights into local history, farm and community life and her love for Okanagan Lake.
A celebration of life will be held at a later date.
Visit kelownadailycourier.ca and search ‘Westbank legend turns 100’ for more information on her life.