G10: Malcolm Shiels 1947-2012 & Brenda Chapman

Malcolm Allan Kennedy Shiels was born on June 21, 1947 at Hartney, Manitoba. He was the first child of Howard & Eva (Kennedy) Shiels. He spent his early school years in Roseland south of Brandon before going to high school in Brandon and Killarney. During those years, he excelled in curling and golf and spent most weekends in curling rinks or golf courses; sports which he still did and enjoyed. Malcolm worked with his dad until he married Brenda Chapman on February 1,1969. Brenda was born April 26, 1949 in Killarney, Manitoba and was the only daughter of Jack & Honey Chapman of Killarney.

Malcolm and Brenda have two sons; Malcolm Scott, born September 20, 1971 and Tyler Jay born June 22, 1974. After the boys got to hockey age, Malcolm gave up his sports a bit to coach and manage baseball and hockey. The boys kept him busy also hunting, boating, golfing and curling. They all enjoyed the many years Mal spent doing things with their friends; the house was always full of extras! Malcolm was an avid hunter from the time he was a young boy; helping his Dad shoot a deer for food for winter. He always believed the first day of deer hunting was a day off of school. Because there were things in life you had to learn besides school work. The freezers were always full. Because he was such a lover of bird hunting, he bought himself the “ultimate hunting companion” – Suni. Suni will be waiting to go hunting with Mal in heaven. They raised registered Golden Retrievers for 15 years; making “Suni and Cher” parents to 39 puppies.

Malcolm was very community minded; Golf Course, Curling Club, Senior Hockey, Minor Hockey, Legion and Ducks Unlimited.

In 2002, Malcolm and Brenda purchased 14 acres of lakeshore property on Pelican Lake. Five years later they started a little resort “Shiels Shores” selling 9 lake lots, to share some of what they called a “little piece of heaven on earth”. They spent hours touring the lake on their pontoon boat or pulling their grandkids behind on the tube. Barbecuing bacon and eggs on the beach Sunday morning was Mal’s favorite. Also watching his two grandsons cruising on his new Gator round and round made Malcolm happy. He was so proud of his grandkids, being called “Grampa” or “Grampy” was so special to him. Brandon and Drew both carry on Grandpa’s name.

Malcolm was a salesman all his life starting at age 17, traveling to North Saskatchewan sending his paycheques home to help his parents. He sold everything from McKenzie Seed to GM vehicles (Chapman’s) to Case Farm Machinery to John Deere equipment. He had the gift of the gab which both his sons inherited. Malcolm and Brenda had traveled some, Hawaii (2), Mexico, Texas, and Arizona but had hoped to do some more in their retirement years. They bought a small yard care business thinking of retirement. The small business turned into big business, “Suni-Daze Lawn Care”, buying new and bigger equipment and needing to hire help.

In 2011, Tyler decided to buy into the business and do his carpentry in the winter months, now under the name “Suni-Daze Ltd.”. Unfortunately, Malcolm was not able to carry on with Tyler for very long. He turned 65 in June, celebrated with a big barbeque at the lake, July 1st and shortly after started his toughest battle in life. In late July, he was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. He said, “It’s been a good life, only too short”. Two months and one day later, he was gone on September 27, 2012.

Brenda continued to live at Shiels Shores and in 2019, she moved in with her friend Gord Hansen on his farm outside of Brandon. Gord grew up close to Malcolm and were good friends growing up. He was a groomsman at Brenda and Malcolm’s wedding. Gord lost his wife shortly before Malcolm got sick, and Brenda and Gord started hanging out a couple years after Malcolm died. They found a lot of comfort and companionship in each other and that has turned to love, which is fantastic for both of them!