MATTEISING, JOHANNA
Born April 1938
Died Jan, 2010
on Queen Charlotte Island after a short illness.
Johanna was a great nature lover and avid reader and will be remembered on Salt Spring as the administrator of Greenwoods Care Home
from 1979 – 1989.
NORA SHARP
(nee Rous)
Born: September 2, 1912
Died: December 31, 2009
Peacefully in Greenwoods at age 97, after a full life.
Nora grew up in the Ottawa Valley, one of the beautiful Rous daughters. Her life changed dramatically when she met and married Flight Sergeant Marshal Sharp from Vancouver in 1938. As an airforce wife she travelled the country with him, bearing five active children. They took early retirement and moved to Salt Spring Island in 1960 where they continued to raise their children, create gardens, build rock walls and sail the coast in their boat, Sonsy. Marshal died in 1973, and Nora continued the manufacture of flint and steel survival firelighters and providing copies of his photos (now in the Salt Spring archives).
Nora is survived by her five children, Betty Taylor (SSI), Bob Sharp [Clara] (Whitehorse), Don Sharp [Gail] (SSI), Diane Sharp [Bertrand] (Qualicum Beach) and Brenda Timbers [Bob] (Ship’s Point), nine grandchildren, eleven great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild. She will be deeply missed by her sister Dorothy Jessiman and her family in the east.
GILLIAN INGRID LEE
November 12 1961 – December 31st 2009
Gillian died peacefully in the
company of her sister Jennifer,
brother Ingmar and father
Ken, from pneumonia, and complications due to Huntington’s disease, a hereditary neuro-degenerative disorder.
Born in Wawa Ontario, Gillian attended schools in Ontario and finally McGill, Guelph, and UVIC. She obtained a
degree in English and a Teaching Certificate from McGill, and later, a Diploma in Early Childhood Education from Langara College in Vancouver.
Gillian was a gifted and inspiring writer, a visual artist and a musician who played both the flute and banjo. Always fiercely independent, she travelled widely.
She loved animals and children and was especially devoted to
her niece, Rowan, and her nephew Kane who reside on Denman Island. By an extraordinary coincidence Gillian died on the day of a Blue Moon, a classic that she often asked Ken to play on the piano.
After a family camping trip to Banff Park, she began her long love affair with the Rocky Mountains, and the outdoors. She developed a lifelong interest in tree planting and put herself through all her schools with this toughest of tough jobs, which explains her remarkable fitness and strength.
Gillian spent her final three years at BraeHaven, Salt Spring’s new Assisted Living facility, and finally, in the loving care of the staff at Extended Care Unit of Lady Minto Hospital.
The family wishes to take this opportunity to sincerely thank the doctors, nurses, and all the wonderful support staff and residents at Lady Minto and BraeHaven for the extraordinary care and love that they gave to Gillian as she succumbed to this brutal disease.
At her own request, Gillian has donated her body to the Huntington’s Disease Research Centre at UBC and has asked that no service or memorial be held. Donations to Lady Minto Hospital Foundation
SAMUAL THOMAS COCHRANE
(1930 – 2009)
Sam’s journey ended on
Dec. 30. He had been very ill for 12 days.
Many will remember him as the postman.
Sam is survived by Elsie, Betty, dear friend Susannah, old friend George Coles and the dogs Nicki & Jenny.
Predeceased by his brother Bill, Sam leaves 4 sisters: Anne, Mary, Margaret & Kathryne. Service was held at our church, Salt Spring United on Jan. 4 at 2:00pm.
During Sam’s final illness we are thankful to those who travelled this journey with us. To Dr. Woodley who showed such caring, to Virginia who drove us to appointments on some very stormy days and guided me with quiet calm.
An Irish toast to all from Sam: “Confusion to our enemies, God’s greatest gifts to our friends”.
MARILYN FUCHS
Marilyn “Tippy” Joan Fuchs, age 78, died December 30, 2009, in Kansas City, MO.
Born 11/9/31 in Detroit, Michigan to Jacob & Elsie Tipton, the family moved to Trenton, MO during WW II. Tippy was in many school activities and was given the opportunity to take flying lessons as a teenager. Her solo cross country flight was from Trenton to Kansas City at age 16. After graduation she moved to Kansas City and worked several office jobs. Meanwhile she had several modeling opportunities including being in the first issue of “Seventeen Magazine”. As receptionist at the Advertising and Sales Executive Club she met Dick Fuchs, a fellow from New York, relatively new to Kansas City who was a Naval Aviator in WWII and had just joined a small insurance agency. They dated for a relatively short period of time until he realized she was the girl of his dreams. They married at Visitation Church on October 17, 1953. They both wanted a large family as Tippy had been an only child and they had their wish come true with six living children. A seventh daughter followed, Haley Louis, who only survived for ten hours. Tippy was a beautiful, talented wife and wonderful mother. The kids all returned her love and caring ways. As a large loving family they all remained in the Kansas City area. During the busy time raising her family she still demonstrated outstanding talents. She was a member of the Weavers Guild and created beautiful and inventive weavings, was a terrific cook, pianist, singer, poet and beautiful artist, specializing in pastels. She also played the flute, and took Spanish lessons for their frequent trips to Mexico. Tippy and Dick traveled extensively around the world, and also had properties in Breckenridge, CO, Taos, NM and Salt Spring Island, British Columbia where they loved to entertain their family and friends. In addition she operated several businesses, a clothing boutique, “I, a Woman”, and two art galleries, “In the Spirit Gallery” and “MJF Gallery” both of which specialized in southwestern art.
Tippy is survived and held in loving memory by, her husband Richard C. Fuchs, children Richard and Gail Fuchs and their sons Richard III and Cody, Robert and Sophie Fuchs, and their children Nicole and Jacob, Kimberly and Kristian laCour-Madsen, Lise and Kirk Strobel, and their children Haley, Adam, and Lise’s son Kevin his wife April and their four children Samantha, Jake, Sara, and Jessica, Courtney Fuchs and Robert Swisher, and their daughter Marilyn “Emmy”, Christopher John Fuchs.
It was Tippy’s wish once her children were grown to contribute to many individuals and charitable organizations, which prompted her to start her “Tippy’s Angel Fund” at Operation Breakthrough. So the family asks in lieu of flowers, friends are invited to make a donation to “Tippy’s Angel Fund” at Operation Breakthrough, 3039 Troost, Kansas City, MO, 64108 or www.operationbreathrough.com
Funeral Services were held on Saturday, January 2nd, 12:00 p.m., at McGilley State Line Chapel, 12301 State Line Road, Kansas City, MO.
MARGARET (PEGGY) JACOBS
Margaret (Peggy) Jacobs recently of Meadowbrook Seniors Residence died on Monday, December 28th, 2009. She will be remembered on Salt Spring Island for her ready smile, her lively conversation, her interest in the arts, in conservation and hiking and her strong interest in the sciences.
She leaves to remember her fondly her two children, Angela and Adrian, her three grandchildren Tom, Peter and Leslie, and seven great-grandchildren as well as many many good friends in Western Canada, especially on the island and some still in England.
Peggy was born close to the Lake District in England in 1916 and met her future husband, George, during beagling meets, but they also enjoyed field hockey, mountain climbing and kayaking, the latter especially on the great rivers of Europe.
She was persuaded not to study sciences or engineering where she really wanted to go, and instead studied Home Economics at Battersea Polytechnic in London and then became a school teacher in her native Barrow-in-Furness.
After marriage to George, by now a solicitor (lawyer) they settled outside Windsor, England where they raised their two children. In addition during the war years she worked to increase voting registration especially among women, made electrical coils for the war effort, started a kindergarten initially in a spare bedroom in their flat which then moved to it’s own building. She also gave cooking lessons for both children and adults in nearby Windsor.
The family moved to Edmonton, Alberta in the mid ‘50s. She initially became a substitute teacher in junior high schools, then moved to the Correspondence School teaching Grade XII biology. She was then asked to redesign and rewrite the course. This lead to her preparing a series of TV programs to teach distant Correspondence School student supervisors around the province about the new course. In order to increase her understanding of teaching and communication she went back to university to earn an M.Ed in Educational Psychology (with distinction). Peggy was then taken on as a faculty member by University of Alberta, Faculty of Home Economics, to teach communications, especially to the young women who would become dieticians in the community. Her final academic position was as Research Associate in the brand new Athabasca University.
Peggy was widowed in 1965 and remarried in 1974, returning to Cambridge, England where they lived in a unique National Trust protected house some 500 years old. She was able to meet and become friends with many world-renowned scientists, including Stephen and Jane Hawking, during those years. She returned to Canada, to live on Salt Spring Island, in 1981, living on Old Scott Road for almost 27 years. She joined the Hiking Club and quickly made many friends on the island. She enjoyed her garden, her painting, hiking both on and off island, the Arts and especially music and keeping up to date on current affairs. Her living room table was always covered with a mass/mess (!) of periodicals, magazines, books and newspapers. She loved conversation and the sciences, and only a month before her death was asking about the latest findings on black holes. She enjoyed her computer to keep up to date with her friends both here and in England and had it brought in to Lady Minto Hospital to try to keep going. Alas that was not to be, and she died peacefully, her friends by her side, a smile on her face.
The family wishes to thank very sincerely all her friends who visited and supported her while she was in Lady Minto, as well as the health care team from the kitchen aides and servers to the nurses and physicians who were so kind to her. Thank you. You all made her stay much more bearable.
There will be a reception at Meadowbrook Seniors Residence, 121 Atkins Road, SSI
on Wednesday, January 6 between 2 and 4 pm
ALEXANDER F. ARNET
passed away suddenly on December 28th at 1:28PM. He leaves behind his partner Natasha, mother Janaki, sister Christine as well as his extended family and friends. Alex is and always will be a man of integrity, with a brilliant mind and a gift of humour with astute clarity. In the last last five months Alex was brave and remained positive to his last breath, embodying love over fear.
A celebration of life will be held on December 31st at the Lions Hall at 3:00 pm
with a private New Years celebration afterward.
He will be missed
more than words can say.
THERESA (JEANNE) MARY ANDERSON
Dec 3, 1929 – Dec 27, 2009 (80 yrs)
Jeanne Benoit grew up in Southern Alberta in a family of nine children. After the war, she married Richard Anderson in 1949. Together, they raised three girls and a boy, in towns in Alberta and BC: Vulcan, Dawson Creek, Sylvan Lake, and Salt Spring Island, retiring to Langley in the 80s. Jeanne passed away at Fairhaven Nursing Home in Burnaby, where she had lived for the past year. She was known by everyone as a gentle-hearted, sociable, and quietly devout woman, and will be remembered as a devoted and loving mother and grandmother by her family. Her family and relatives will cherish our memories with her. Survived by a brother, Henry (Irene) of Ontario, her children Brenda (Geoff), Shelley and Brian (Masako), son-in-law Laurier, fourteen grandchildren and one great-grandchild. She was predeceased by her husband Richard (2008), eldest daughter Arlene (1999), and seven siblings.
A Funeral Service was held at 1 pm Monday, January 4, 2010 at Bell & Burnaby Funeral Chapel, 4276 Hastings St Burnaby, BC.
In lieu of flowers, you are encouraged to donate to the Alzheimer’s Society of BC.
A Memorial Service will be scheduled for summer at Sylvan Lake Cemetery, Sylvan Lake, Alberta. You may offer the family condolences at www.bellburnaby.com.
BARBARA HICKS
BARBARA
ISABEL HICKS
(NEE ARKLEY)
Peacefully, at Lady Minto Hospital, Ganges, Salt Spring Island, BC, at age 82, early in the morning of December 23. Barbara was attended with great love and care by husband Lowell Salter Hicks and son Steven Harold Hicks, by Dr. Jan MacPhail, and by the superb staff of Lady Minto.
Barbara is survived by four children, Michael Taylor, Susan Barbara, Steven Harold, and Peter Lowell, by grandchildren David Hicks, Jesse, Nicola, and Jennifer Berg, Adam Hicks, and Sage Spicer, and by great grandchildren Jonathan and Matthew Hicks.
Barbara was an ardent believer in social justice and environmental stewardship, commitments she demonstrated every day even in the fifties and sixties when such ideas were still emerging in North American society.
A member of the Salt Spring Island Raging Grannies (Barbara was ?the pink Granny?), the Trail and Nature Club, and many other organizations, Barb loved her protest trips to places like Clayoquot Sound, and adored her life on the island with Lowell, in a home they built together overlooking Active Pass & Mount Baker.
A memorial service will be held on an appropriately beautiful spring day in 2010 on Salt Spring Island. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to any charitable organization that embraces care of this earth and the people so fortunate to live on her.
YVONNE CATHERINE STEELE
(nee Estabrook)
February 9, 1924 – December 19, 2009
Passed away in the company of her daughter April at Lady Minto Hospital on Salt Spring Island, BC from the complications of Non Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Born in Saint John, New Brunswick to Joe and Myra (Bacon) Estabrook. She is survived by sisters Betty Campbell and Pat Estabrook, children April (Gary Railer) Salt Spring Island, Chris (Sandy) San Diego CA, Barry (Joni) Manzanita OR, Nancy Houck (Bill) Waterford VA, grandchildren Ginger and Billy Houck. Predeceased by her parents, first husband Bill Steel (1991) and second husband Armando Fabbri (1988).
Five years after moving to the United States in 1962 Yvonne and Bill separated causing Yvonne to seek employment to support her three children still at home. During their “dancing years”, she and best friend Juanita Gomez took many cruises and trips. On one of these cruises, Yvonne met the ship’s engineer, Armando Fabbri. They had a long distance ship board romance which continued for many cruises after their marriage. In 1984, they retired to Armando’s native Italy. Following his death four years later, Yvonne then returned to Canada after a 26 year absence. From her Ottawa headquarters she continued a peripatetic life traveling to Europe, visiting her kids and grandkids in the United States and wintering in Victoria.
Yvonne moved to Victoria in 1997. She continued to travel and was an insatiable reader and writer with no day complete without getting outside until seven months ago when living with cancer required hospitalization. Moving to the Residential Care Unit of the Lady Minto Hospital for her last few months she was well looked after by the excellent staff of the ECU. She retained her positive attitude through life’s ups and downs to the end. A family memorial will be held in the spring with remains to be scattered at sea. In lieu of flowers any donations may be made to the Lady Minto Hospital Foundation 135 Crofton Rd, Salt Spring Island, BC V8K 1T1.