Lori Catherine Edlund 

June 12th, 1969 – April 4th, 2023 

It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of Lori Edlund on April 4th,2023 in Edmonton, AB. Lori passed away peacefully in her sleep with her family by her side after a long and hard-fought battle with cancer. Lori was 53 years young and will be lovingly remembered and sadly missed by her husband Rod Edlund, daughter Kayla Anhorn, son Dallas Edlund, son in-law Kevin Anhorn, Father Donald Hendren, and sister Aura & Scott Evans as well as many other aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews & cousins.  

Lori was born June 12th, 1969 in Vancouver, British Columbia to Donald Hendren and Bonnie Anderson. In her early years Lori went to school in Vancouver lower mainland until she relocated to Kamloops BC to live with her dad for her high school years. There she completed high school and graduated with honors. 

While living in Kamloops Lori met Rod and together, they supported each other through trade school and college. Once Rod completed trade school, they decided to make the big move to Vancouver where there were more employment opportunities for them both. Lori quickly got a job at Dueck Chevrolet, GMC & Buick alongside her grandmother and always spoke fondly of her time there. Rod also found work quickly and together they decided to settle down and start to prepare for a family.  

On June 30th, 1990, Lori and Rod got married in Vancouver BC and 6 months later they welcomed their first child Kayla Edlund on December 18th,1990. Shortly after they welcomed their first child Rod obtained a pipeline job that would require him to be on the road often. Having just had their first child Lori & Rod could not stand to have so much time and distance between them and decided that together the 3 of them would purchase a 40ft fifth wheel and travel the Kootenays with Rod following the pipeline. The saying around the trailer quickly became “follow that pipe!” as wherever the pipe was heading was sure to be Rods next work stop. 

As a family Rod, Lori & Kayla traveled the Kootenays for 4.5 years, Lori often spoke about how these years were some of the best in her life, recounting all the adventures and learning curves involved in maintaining a 40ft fifth wheel with a toddler 24/7.  

In 1994 Lori & Rod found out that they were expecting their second child and quickly decided that a family of 4 in a fifth wheel was not going to be manageable. Together they put the fifth wheel up for sale and used the money from the sale to put a down payment on their first house in Langley, BC. On September 6th, 1995, Dallas Edlund was born at the Burnaby General Hospital, the same hospital his mother and sister were born. Lori and Rod were absolutely overcome with joy and knew that their family was finally complete. Kayla was so happy to have a little brother and took on the role moms’ helper anytime she could. Lori always said that her children were her greatest accomplishments in life and that being a mother was the best thing that ever happened to her. 

In 1999 Rod, Lori, Kayla & Dallas all made the big moved to Edmonton Alberta where they quickly settled down in north Edmonton. Once Dallas started school Lori went back to work as a care worker with the handicap. Lori excelled at this job due to her compassion, patience, leadership abilities and her heart of gold. Her clients loved her, and she them. She went above and beyond to ensure that all her clients received the best possible care and continuously advocated to better her client’s situations. 

Over the years Lori coached many sports teams for her son and daughter and was a huge part of the community as a whole. Taking on roles within the community league to help ensure the community’s continued growth and stability for her family and many others. Lori was always there to cheer on her son & daughter at any of their chosen sporting events, Lori was a tiny woman standing only 5ft tall, but you could always hear her shouting her support over the cheers of the other parents and fans.  

Lori retired early and enjoyed life watching her family mature, she was always considered the cool mom and always had a house full of teenagers. Lori loved a full house and always liked the fact that her kid’s friends felt comfortable at her home. She went on to be an adopted mother for several of her children’s friends and made a huge impact on the youth she came into contact with. 

Rod & Lori were together for 39 years and married for 32 of them. Together they supported each other through hard times and good, their love for each other never wavering. Lori always said that Rod was her best friend and her lover, they were soulmates. Finding Rod and creating her beautiful family was her greatest accomplishment in life and she spoke of it often. How proud she was of her Son Dallas & Daughter Kayla but also how proud she was of Rod and grateful for the life they had built together. 

Lori was always happy; she woke up happy and went to bed happy. The few times she was unfortunate enough to wake up in a grumpy mood she would get angry at herself because of it. She was so full of love, happiness, joy, and was always lighting up every room she was in. She made a huge impact on everyone she encountered and will be lovingly remembered by her family and sadly missed by many. 

The family would like to send a special thank you the doctors and nurses at the Cross Cancer institute as well as the Grey Nuns for their compassion and support. 

A private family service will be scheduled later this year. 

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations in Lori’s name may be made to the Cross Cancer Institute, 11560 University Ave Edmonton, AB.