Olwen Landers

Olwen Landers passed away on January 31, 2026 at the age of 97, at Bastion Place.

Olwen was born in Deiniolen, County Caernarvonshire, North Wales on February 20, 1928.  She was the middle of three children born to John and Elizabeth Evans.  After attending college in Bangor, North Wales, Olwen taught Home Economics in Manchester, England and Abergele, North Wales.

Having listened to her father’s stories about his longing to come to Canada, Olwen showed her adventurous spirit when she moved to Canada in 1956.  She taught Home Economics in Kamsack, Saskatchewan and in Sooke, BC before furthering her education at UBC.  Then two job offers came her way.  Through the toss of a coin, she chose Salmon Arm, arriving by train in 1959 to teach at Salmon Arm High School.

Olwen met and married Maurice Landers, Vice Principal of the high school and a widower.  With open arms, she took on the responsibility of raising his three children, Garry, Joyanne and Dean.  In 1961 their daughter Eve was born, completing their family. Olwen brought  to their family a sense of grace, warm humility, appreciation of art and classical music, and a keen awareness of the natural world.

Besides raising her family, Olwen volunteered many hours as a member of the Girls Hospital Aid and was also a member of the Shuswap Sketch Club.  Over the years, she enjoyed creating art work using a variety of mediums and genres. Olwen and Maurice also travelled extensively.  Deeply proud of her Welsh heritage and a fluent speaker of the Welsh language, Olwen was a founding member of the Shuswap Welsh Society. 

Olwen is survived by her sons Garry (Mary), Dean (Sally), her daughters Joyanne and Eve; grandchildren Stacey, Rob, Quinn, Tara, Owen, Heath and Laura; and four great grandchildren Leo, Charlie, Brooklyn and Austin.  She was predeceased by Maurice Landers in November 2010. 

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Shuswap Hospital Foundation, PO Box 265, Salmon Arm BC V1E4N3.

Email condolences may be sent to Olwen’s obituary at www.bowersfuneralservice.com.

A deep thank you to the staff of Lakeside Manor, Shuswap Lake General Hospital, and Bastion Place.

A Celebration of Life and reception for Olwen Landers will be held at Bowers Funeral Home on Saturday, April 11th at 2:00 pm.  Her family would love to see you there.