Judith Rohrer Andersen

11 June 1943 – 5 June 2013

Judith lived her early life in Los Angeles, California. She married her husband, Richard Andersen (also of Los Angeles) in 1968. In 1982 she and Richard immigrated to Canada, moving first onto her family-owned Russell Island, situated at the mouth of Fulford Harbour, Saltspring Island. Since 1997 they lived in a newly designated Heritage residence in Oak Bay.

Judith was accomplished in a wide range of the arts: she played the harpsichord, had a loom by which she produced textiles of her own artistry, participated in folk dancing, and was an active volunteer and supporter of a wide variety of arts organizations. Her interests in design informed her efforts to restore two Craftsman-style residences in Oak Bay and create her own garden.

Throughout her life Judith was a devoted community volunteer. While living on Russell Island, she commuted by rowboat to Saltspring Island to volunteer countless hours at the community library. After her move to Oak Bay, she was a volunteer and supporter of the Early Music Society of the Islands. She was a tireless heritage advocate for both Victoria and Oak Bay. She helped with the compilation of inventories of historic residences under the respective sponsorships of the Victoria Heritage Foundation and Heritage Oak Bay. She volunteered on many of the local fund raising house and garden tours, often including her own garden.

Judith is remembered especially for her personal kindness: rather than thinking of herself first, she always considered others. Judith was the picture of elegance, even while walking her dogs. She had a finely developed sense of humour and enjoyed laughing with friends and family. Judith was an excellent cook of the highest caliber. This can be attested by those fortunate enough to share exquisite meals at her table.

Judith is survived by her husband Richard, her sister Lynne Rohrer Zinsley, and her dog Taylor. Taylor will take up residence in Port Coquitlam. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Victoria Foundation in her memory. There will be neither a funeral nor a memorial service, at Judith’s request.

Manfred Pape

September 29, 1941 – May 27, 2013

In fond memory of Manfred Pape who is lovingly remembered as a devoted husband, father, brother, friend, railway buff, pharmacist, hiker, cyclist, cross-country skier, nature lover and world traveller. Born Sept 29, 1941 in Leipzig, Germany, Manfred died May 27, 2013 in Victoria, British Columbia, after a long struggle with colorectal cancer. It is with heartfelt gratitude that Manfred’s family expresses their appreciation for the compassionate & expert care offered Manfred in these last months at Victoria Hospice.

Before moving to Victoria in 2012, Manfred and his wife, Marion, spent over 11 years on Salt Spring Island on a Rainbow Road acreage with dozens of fruit trees and a nourishing garden. Manfred will be deeply missed by his wife Marion, their son Andrew Pape-Salmon (Victoria), their daughter-in-law Sara and her family (Courtenay), Manfred’s sister Maria Lewis (Port Perry, ON) and brothers George and Herbert (Delhi and Aino Beach, ON).

Manfred went to high school in Ajax, ON and graduated from the University of Toronto where he met Marion. Drawn together by their sense of adventure and love for travel, Manfred & Marion moved to Western Canada and the Yukon shortly after the birth of their son, Andrew. Before Andrew was of school age, they headed south along the West Coast in a Volkswagen Westfalia camper to the Panama Canal – thus securing a characteristic “flight of the spirit” that over the years has endeared Manfred and Marion to the truly curious and adventurous of heart.

Manfred Pape was a compassionate and attentive listener who was generous with his time and energy. In 2010, Manfred participated as a member of the support team for the three-week-long Vancouver Island Spine Trail Relay. Manfred helped carry the trail runners’ camping gear out of Cape Scott as his son Andrew and three others ran the North Coast Trail, meeting the group on a water taxi 14 hours later.

Manfred worked as a pharmacist in Ontario, Alberta, the North West Territories, the Yukon, Nova Scotia and British Columbia. He also worked in Saskatchewan with Federated Co-op. But trains were his passion. He grew up with railroads and had a phenomenal memory for remembering the timetables of buses and trains across Canada. He was in every sense of the word, Canadian. He had a love for the open road, for the adventure of travel, for the enjoyment of the people he met along the way. His home was not any one province, city or rural area. His home was this immense country called Canada and he made it his life’s ambition to see and explore as much of it as possible.

One of Manfred’s final delights was watching and talking to his team of 26 friends and family members in the “Hike for Hospice” on May 5th via an internet video connection from his hospice bed.

A Celebration of Manfred’s life will be held at Manfred’s request at First Unitarian Church, 5575 West Saanich Rd. followed by a picnic on Canada Day weekend, at 3pm, June 30th.

Donations in lieu of flowers can be sent to Victoria Hospice http://www.victoriahospice.org or the Land Conservancy of BC (www.conservancy.bc.ca).

COCKBURN, JOHN (JACK)

Passed away peacefully in Lady Minto Hospital on May 27th, 2013. Born and raised in Ontario Jack moved to Salt Spring to be with his daughter in 2011. Predeceased by his wife Norma, grandson John Fidler, and sister Jean Smith; much loved by his daughter Dianne Fidler, granddaughter Lianne Fidler, and great-grandchildren Tara and Aidan Holmes.

Dr. Karen Marguerite Berg

July 5, 1958 to May 20, 2013

It is with deep sorrow that we announce the passing of Dr. Karen Marguerite Berg on Monday, May 20 on Salt Spring Island, British Columbia at the age of 54 years.

Karen will be dearly missed by her three cherished children: daughter Anora, sons Aren and Sam; sister Merrill Berg (Mark Doerksen) of Winnipeg MB.; brother Dr. Greg Berg (Krisha) and their children; Alexei, Adam, and Andrew of Sault Ste. Marie ON.; many extended family members, friends, patients, and professional colleagues.

Karen was born to Marguerite (Ramona) Campbell and Louis Alexander (Alex) Berg in Winnipeg, Manitoba on July 5, 1958. She was predeceased by her mother in 1993 and father in 2013.

Karen grew up in Transcona, a suburb of Winnipeg, Manitoba. She excelled academically and in many activities. She was an active girl who enjoyed being outdoors and participating in Brownies and Girl Guides. She loved music and took years of lessons in piano, dance, ballet as well as swimming. She worked in the Community Summer Education outdoor programs and for Via Rail. She was an adventurous teenager who participated in the Outward Bound Program and travelled by bike on the TransCanada highway to Ontario and to BC. She loved travelling and ventured across Canada and many countries including Scotland, Thailand, and New Zealand. She was a strong endurance athlete, running in half and full marathons, hiking mountains, participating in yoga and triathlons. She recently achieved her Brown Belt in Karate.

She enjoyed spending her summers visiting her grandmother, aunts, uncles, and cousins in Quibell, Ontario, swimming in Blue Lake, canoeing at Edward Lake, and walking through fields of daisies, tiger lilies and forest groves (together with the mosquitoes and black flies) down to the falls.

At the age of 8 she knew she wanted to be a Doctor and achieved that dream, earning her Doctor of Medicine from the University of Manitoba in 1982. She completed Postgraduate programs in Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Science (1983) and Anesthesia (1984). She initially worked in many communities in Manitoba and Ontario.

At the age of 12, Karen knew she wanted to live in British Columbia and achieved that dream in 1989. She moved at first to Vancouver and then to Salt Spring Island in 1990 where she set up a Family Practice, which spanned 23 years. She also served in the Northwest Territories for short periods each year helping the northern communities. Over the course of her career she completed numerous professional courses and constantly continued to learn.

Karen loved life and lived it to the fullest.

She loved the world around her; taking walks on forest trails with her dogs, kids and numerous friends; having a snuggle with her cat; and hiking Mount Erskine to see the fairy doors. She took great delight in the fragrance of a spring rain in the forest and the beauty of flowers and trees. One of her greatest joys was having family and friends over to share a meal, a round of board games such as scrabble, and good times together.

Karen contributed to the wellbeing of the community, sharing the sadness, challenges, joys and triumphs of her patients. She celebrated the births of babies with many mothers. She cared deeply for the people in her life: family, friends, patients, colleagues. She was truly compassionate, generous, and joyful.

You are forever in our hearts dear Karen.

We love you. Rest in Peace.

Cremation has taken place. Celebration of Life will be held on Salt Spring Island in June, date and location to be determined. A Memorial service will be held in Winnipeg at a later date.

Eleanor Katherine Noakes

(nee Benard)

August 10, 1920 – May 19, 2013

It is with great sadness to announce Eleanor’s passing. She leaves her daughter Susan and joins her husband John. Eleanor was a loving and supportive mother, wife, daughter, sister, friend and community member.  Born in Verdun, Quebec, moved to Vancouver in 1955 and to Salt Spring Island in 1979. Eleanor was beautiful in every sense of the word through her love, gentleness, kindness, humility, strength and her wonderful sense of humour – even in life’s most challenging moments. You will be in our hearts always. You are in God’s hands.  Love you mom.

Elizabeth Agnes Emily Bongie

28 September 1930 – 18 May 2013

Elizabeth (‘Bettye’) passed away at the age of 82 in Lady Minto Hospital on Salt Spring Island. She is survived by Larry, her husband of 54 years, her son Chris (Ishita), her brother William (Joan), and many cherished nieces, nephews, and cousins. Born in Victoria, the daughter of William and Alice Bryson, Bettye did her undergraduate studies at Vic College and UBC, winning upon graduation in 1951 the coveted Governor General’s Gold Medal. In the following years, she pursued doctoral studies at the University of Illinois and the American School of Classical Studies at Athens, receiving her PhD in Classics in 1956. On her return to British Columbia, she was appointed the first woman tenure-track member of the Department of Classics at UBC where she taught until her retirement in 1992. The award of a Master Teaching prize was but one sign of the high esteem in which she was held by students and colleagues alike. In addition to her contributions to the teaching of Greek and Latin language, literature, and mythology, Bettye was a pioneering contributor to both the Medieval and the Women’s Studies programmes on campus. Over the course of her career, her scholarly and teaching interests ranged widely, from an early concentration on Greek paleography to an evolving focus on the spiritual lives of women in antiquity, well evidenced in her translation of the Life and Regimen of the Blessed and Holy Syncletica. Widely travelled, most notably in her retirement years, she and Larry eventually moved from Vancouver to Salt Spring, where she had spent many happy summers as a child. Gardening, reading, and embroidery filled her days and even in the midst of increasing health difficulties she held true to the words of Julian of Norwich, one of her favourite medieval woman mystics: “All Shall Be Well, And All Shall Be Well, And All Manner Of Thing Shall Be Well.”

The family wishes to thank Dr. James Franklin White, the Home & Community Care nurses of Salt Spring, and the nursing staff at Lady Minto Hospital for their unstinting care and assistance. In lieu of flowers, donations to the Lady Minto Hospital Foundation or to a charity of choice are welcomed. A private memorial will be scheduled at a later date.

RUMSEY, Arthur George

April 25, 1921 – May 11, 2013

Art passed away peacefully, on Saturday, May 11, 2013 with family by his side.

Survived by wife Lou, daughters Sue (Don) Michiel, Judy (Joe) Battista, Pam (Paul) Hinton, and Debbie (Wayne) Derksen as well as grandchildren Jason (Christie), Spencer (Dawn), Mike (Suzanne), Donato (Angela), Andrew (Chelsey), Simon, Jeremy (Michelle), Sabrina (Dan), and Caroline (Steve) and great grandchildren Nate, Jack, Aria, Morgan and Maxwell.

He was predeceased by parents Lionel and Violet, brothers Jack and Roy, and daughter Wendy.

Art served as a member of the Canadian Militia during World War II in the United Kingdom and Continental Europe. It was during that time that he met and married his wife of more than 65 years, Lou.

Art worked with BC Telephone Company in Vancouver for many years and then was transferred to Salt Spring Island in 1970. It was a dream come true for he and Lou, and they enjoyed many happy years together there. Dad especially loved his garden, stained glass projects, woodworking, and his art classes.

People who knew him remember him as kind, gentle, reliable, extremely honest (sometimes more than necessary!), and always loyal. His cheerfulness and “unique” sense of humour will never be forgotten.

The family would like to thank the very kind and caring staff at West Vancouver Care Centre, Dad’s “home” for the last year.

A private family service will be held at a later date.