86-year-old Calgary woman receives gift of a flight over Ha Ling Peak to view late husband and daughter’s ashes

A Calgary senior has fulfilled her long-held dream of seeing the mountain peak where her husband's and daughter's ashes were scattered.

Louise Barnett had dreamed for years of seeing the summit of Ha Ling Peak, where a portion of her husband’s and daughter’s ashes were scattered.

On Wednesday morning, the 86-year-old Calgary woman finally did — from the air.

Barnett, who lives at the Rocky Ridge Retirement Community in northwest Calgary, was unable to make the 2,408-metre climb above Canmore herself. Through the residence’s annual wish program, staff arranged a flight out of Springbank Airport so she and her daughter could circle the mountain together.

“It would be fitting to go fly over this because my other daughter, Kelly and her whole family trekked up there with their ashes and deposited them there. But I wasn’t able to do that. It was just too much of a challenge,” Barnett said before the flight.

Her husband, Manfred Charles Barnett, and her daughter, Kathleen Elizabeth Barnett, died a year apart during the COVID-19 pandemic. Restrictions at the time meant there was no proper service for her daughter.

The mountains had long held meaning for the family, who spent years holidaying in Fairmont and Canmore.

“Yes, yes, they do have special significance,” Barnett said.

On the morning of the flight, she woke at 4 a.m., too excited to sleep.

After takeoff, the small aircraft banked gently around the peak several times, giving Barnett and her daughter, Karen Forsythe, clear views of the summit.

“It was beautiful. The sunlight was perfect. The there were no clouds. It was just lovely,” Barnett said afterward. “It was another closure, but it was a happy closure again.”

Sense of peace

As the plane circled, she said she felt a sense of peace.

“Well, they’re at peace, and I think they their souls are gone, but their remains are there, and they’re hopefully in heaven.”

Forsythe said sharing the experience with her mother made it even more meaningful.

“It’s my dad and my sister, and it’s at the top of Halling,” she said. “I think it’s just being out in nature. And you know, I think it’s just a special spot for them both.”

Annual wish program

Andrea from the Rocky Ridge Retirement Community said the residence’s annual wish program is designed to help make meaningful dreams possible for residents.

“When Louise shared her wish with us, we knew we wanted to do everything we could to help make it happen,” Andrea said. “Seeing her take off this morning and knowing what this meant to her has been incredibly special for our whole team.”

The wish came together after Wayne Marshall, a volunteer involved in building a scale model of the Avro Arrow, visited the retirement community wearing a jacket covered in aviation patches.

Staff approached him to see if he knew a pilot who could help.

“I can relate to her and the fact that she has loved ones up on the mountain, and would like to go and see them, and that just just was something that I felt I can be part of this or help make it happen. Let’s do it,” Marshall said.

He connected the residence with the Calgary Flying Club, which arranged for a pilot and flight instructor to take Barnett and her daughter up, donating the flight for the occasion.

“I always like providing people with special experiences,” pilot Hiemstra said “and when I learned kind of about the context and the background of this, it definitely kind of piqued my interest.”

Mountain flying requires careful planning, he added, from altitude and route to weather and wind conditions. The early morning departure provided calm air and clear skies.

For Barnett, the flight was something she said she will hold onto.

“Oh, it’ll be something that I’ll hold in my memory. Hopefully my memory lasts,” she said. “I feel how lucky and fortunate I was to give be given this opportunity.”

For a woman who could not make the climb herself, the view from above offered what she had hoped for — a chance to see the place where her family rests, and to say goodbye in her own way.

Note:

Dispersing a loved one’s ashes is allowed in Alberta provincial parks, but there are rules to protect the environment. No monuments can be built or left on Saite, and biodegradable materials must be used . A complete list of the rules can be found here.