SLATON, Zella Isabel Isabel

She was born on February 1, 1945, in Invermere, British Columbia, and died on December 19, 2025, in Kelowna, at the age of 80. She went to be with her savior and Lord Jesus Christ. Her Bible was never far from her reach in her later years.

Zella was a woman with a pioneer streak and a practical sense of adventure. She worked as a camp cook in Revelstoke, BC and the Yukon, a job that suited her perfectly. It required her to set the menu, order the ingredients, prep the meals, cook them and serve “her men”. She was in charge and made sure everyone was fed.

Cooking was one of her great pleasures and one of her family’s great advantages. She took cooking courses and challenged herself cooking International dishes, Chinese dishes and southern dishes like jambalaya, and was known for her cast iron pan fried potatoes that no one else could quite replicate. These meals were not just food. They were how she gathered people, how she showed care, and how she made a place feel like home. She liked to say that she steered her family ship from the captain’s chair at the kitchen table, which summed her up rather well.

Pets were always part of Zella’s life. Dogs and cats came and went, but there was never a time when there was not at least one pet nearby. She always retained a love for “the mountains” from her childhood being born among them, she felt they were always calling her back, no matter where she lived.

Zella was an independent-minded person and never shied from telling you her opinion on a wide range of topics, but she would always listen in a caring way to others. She also believed that anything a man could do, she could do too, and she proved it often. If she was determined to do it, she set her mind to it until it was achieved. She raised three daughters on her own and instilled the same kind of independent mindedness, to live life on your own terms. She served three terms as Noble Grand of the Rebekah Lodge in Kelowna, giving her time and energy to community life with the same commitment she gave to her family.

She was an avid reader of biographies and history, a painter skilled in rosemaling and ceramics, and a devoted listener of Johnny Cash. One of the highlights of her later years was an Alaska cruise taken with her granddaughter, a journey that combined her love of travel, family, and wide open mountain landscapes.

She eventually worked with her daughter Adrienne in her daycare, a role that allowed her to lead, organize, and be a Grandma for little ones in ways that felt natural to her. She tutored them in the ABC’s and 123’s in a loving way to set them up for the next phase of their little lives.

She is survived by her children Adrienne (Dean), Yasmine, and Rachel; her grandchildren Odessa (Ryan), Safina (Joel), Enya, and Dimitri; her great-grandchild Lando, who was a Godsend for her in her later life; and nieces and nephews in Alberta. Family mattered deeply to Zella, and her presence will be felt at every table where food is shared and stories are told.

Predeceased are her parents mother Phyliss and father John, also her sisters Evelyn and Sharon.

Zella will be buried in the Kelowna Memorial Park Cemetery during a private family graveside service, as she requested. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Mamas for Mamas in Kelowna.

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