(nee Thurston)

March 4, 1948 – May 8, 2009

After a courageous battle with pancreatic cancer, Sheila passed away peacefully at home with her family by her side and is now at home with Jesus to join her mother and father, Colin and Irene Thurston, as well as her first grandchild Angel Lee.

Sheila is the beloved wife of Peter Rogers; mother of Lee, Becky and Julie; and grandmother of Jordan, Avery, Jaxson, Skyler, Makayla, and Cruz. Sheila was a vibrant creative force and led an inspiring life filled with energy and enthusiasm which impacted anyone who came into contact with her.

Born in Colchester, England and a graduate of Southend Art College, Sheila immigrated to Canada with husband Peter in 1970 and built a brand new life in Calgary. Sheila loved the raw beauty of Canada which as an artist she expressed over the years in her many paintings and photographs. Sheila was a soccer mom and coach as well as the soccer co-ordinator for Silver Springs Community in the early eighties. Sheila had many gifts and talents and when her family started to grow she went back to school and graduated from the University of Calgary with a Masters Degree in Social Work. From there she became an instructor at Mount Royal College where the students were always vying to be in her class because of her unique teaching style where she employed her art and drama skills. Among her various talents Sheila also worked in Human Resources for Rogers Insurance Ltd for a few years and more recently has been a director. Sheila was also a prolific writer of poems and stories and achieved her lifetime dream of having her book “From Fear To Freedom” published in 2002. Sheila was passionate about the Okanagan Valley where many summers were shared together as a family. This eventually led to her finding her dream summer home in the place she called paradise. More recently Sheila fell in love with the beauty of the Gulf Islands and with Peter acquired a romantic and special home on the waterfront on Salt Spring Island. It is here where she found the inspiration for her more recent artistic works. Sheila had such a strong love, loyalty and protectiveness for her family that will be sadly missed along with her laughter, her vibrancy, her affection and her desire to “always be there”. Sheila had a special bond with her grandchildren who will miss their wonderful “Bumma” and “Dubby”. Sheila had an unwavering faith in God and her love for the Lord shone through her approach to life bringing others to know Him as well.

Sheila will be greatly missed by her family and friends and yet her memory will live on as we know she is now in a better place where she can have no pain.

Funeral Services were held at Centre Street Church Main Campus (3900 – 2nd Street N.E., Calgary, AB) on Thursday, May 14, 2009 at 11:00 a.m. Forward condolences through www.mcinnisandholloway.com. In lieu of flowers, memorial tributes in Sheila’s honour may be made directly to the Alberta Cancer Foundation, c/o Tom Baker Cancer Centre, 1331 – 29 Street N.W., Calgary, AB T2N 4N2 Telephone: (403) 521-3433. The family wishes to convey appreciation and gratitude to all the nurses and doctors at the Tom Baker Cancer Clinic as well as her palliative care team and doctor who have been so caring all the way through making it possible for Sheila to remain at home until her passing.

In living memory of Sheila Rogers, a tree will be planted at Fish Creek Provincial Park by McINNIS & HOLLOWAY FUNERAL HOMES, Chapel of the Bells, 2720 CENTRE STREET NORTH, CALGARY, AB T2E 2V6 Telephone: 1-800-661-1599.

Art Harden passed away peacefully on May 7th, 2009, at the Hospice House in Kelowna with most of his family members by his side.

Arthur William Harden was born August 30, 1924 in Auckland, New Zealand, the fourth of six children to Leslie and Ivy Harden. He grew up in Te Awamutu. He left home to seek his fortune at sixteen and two years later joined the NZ Armed Forces. In 1945 he crossed the Pacific as part of the Commonwealth Air Training Plan and was stationed in Calgary, graduating as a Wireless Operator/Gunner. There he met a young nursing student, Ernestine Peel, and after the war in the Pacific was over, he returned to Calgary and they were married in July 1948.

Over the next three years, Art worked in both Calgary and Winnipeg and after two Winnipeg winters, decided that if he was going to live in Canada, it had to be on the west coast. They moved to Vancouver in 1951 and settled in Burnaby where their five children were born. Art began working for Pacific Western Airlines in 1954. In 1962, he and Ernestine packed up their family and moved to NZ. There he built his first house in the Auckland suburb of Glendowie. After three years, they all returned to Vancouver and Art returned to PWA.

He built his second house in Tsawwassen where the family resided until the kids were grown. During this time, Art had a 35-foot steel hulled ocean-going ketch constructed and he spent four years doing the finishing, both inside and out. It was his desire to sail it back to NZ after he retired. He and Ernestine also purchased an acreage on Salt Spring Island, and after Art took early retirement from PWA at age 53, they moved to Salt Spring and Art built his third house. Time marched on, and after the boat was finished and the move to Salt Spring, Art discovered he might have waited too long to achieve his goal of sailing it back to NZ. Ernestine may have influenced his decision as she was quite clear that she was not going to be a crew member. So he sold the boat and turned his attention to landscaping his little piece of paradise. He was famous for tiered gardens and curving rock walls. He loved to work with concrete and with wood and he turned the Salt Spring property into an English style garden. He could be a bit of a perfectionist, and more than once, he disassembled what he had built and redid it, as the first attempt did not meet his expectations.

For more than forty years Art devoted a great amount of time and passion to the Masonic Lodge, both in the Vancouver area and on Salt Spring. He served as Master of the Aviation Lodge, Master of the Admiral Lodge and as District Deputy.

In latter years, Art’s health declined and after being diagnosed with kidney disease, he realised he would need more medical care than Salt Spring Island could provide. So in 2006 Art and Ernestine sold the acreage and moved to Kelowna. It turned out that dialysis never really agreed with Art and after giving it a good try and his health declining further, he made the decision to stop treatment, which the family understood and respected.

Art is survived by his wife of 60 years, Ernestine; daughters Leanne Campbell (Don) of Auckland, NZ; Maureen Miller (Steve) of West Vancouver; Rhonda Caza (Kirk) of Paget, Bermuda; sons Eric (Cathie) and Tony (Anita) of Kelowna; sister Elizabeth of Auckland; grandchildren Jonathan, Dana and Andrea Campbell; Mike Miller; Kevin and Michelle Caza; Tony (Marie), Dan and Tim Harden; Jennifer and Matthew Harden; and great granddaughters, Kaycee and Taylor. Art was predeceased by his parents, his sisters Joan and Nora, and brothers Bruce and Eric, all of New Zealand.

Following cremation, a private family memorial service was held in Kelowna on May 12, 2009

Frank Cullis passed away on May 7 at 93 years of age.  He will be fondly remembered by his three children, Frank (Janet), Diana and Richard (Lorraine), seven grandchildren, Toby (Kathy), Trisha (Bruce), Ian (Claire), Jessica, Amy (Sean), Jessica and Jayda and two great grandchildren, Stuart and Sophie.

Frank was born in London, England on Dec. 3, 1915 and moved to Canada with his family in 1954. After an upholstery career in the lower mainland, he and Hilda moved to Salt Spring Island in 1973 and were active members in the community.  He loved his Tai Chi, piano lessons, choir, church and garden.   

 A memorial service will be held on Tuesday, May 26th at Salt Spring Island United Church at 2 pm.   Thank you to everyone who visited, and the staff of Lady Minto Hospital for the care and kindness shown to him.  In lieu of flowers, please donate to your favorite charity.

August 19, 1944 – May 1, 2009

The Fisherman’s Prayer

I pray the Lord my soul to keep

While fishing out here in the deep.

And may You grant my fondest wish

And help me land a giant fish.

My friends say I exaggerate

My fishes width and height and weight.

So please forgive me if I brag

About the size of those I snag.

If I should die before I wake,

I pray that Heaven has a lake.

I need no halos, things like that,

If You’ll just let me wear my hat.

—Larry Howland

Service will be held at Beaver Pt. Hall

Sunday, May 17, 3:00 pm

Please bring photos or memories.

In our hearts forever.

passed away on Sunday, April 26 at the age of 53, at Lady Minto Hospital, from Lung Cancer. He is survived by his wife Margo, daughter Madison, step-mother Joyce Greggains (West Hill), sisters Sarah Newberry (Ajax), Fiona Greggains (West Hill), Brigid Elmay (Toronto), nieces Meaghan and Caitlin and nephews Jeffery and Aidan. He is predeceased by his father, Brian Greggains and mother Marie Greggains.

Many things were invaluable to Ben. First and foremost was his daughter Madison, whom he adored. Ben loved living on Salt Spring Island and in Banff, Alberta, where he resided for over 20 years. He loved skiing, golfing, tennis, diving, boating, crabbing, beer, exploring SSI, and taking his dogs, Sasha and Nikita, to the beach. His thirty-nine year friendship with Carlos was important to him, as were his friends on SSI. Thank you to everyone who visited and cared for Ben, to the amazing Doctors, hospital and staff and for the sun, which cheered him in his last days.

A Celebration of Life will be held at the SSI Golf Course on Sunday, May 3rd at 3pm. In lieu of flowers donations can be made to The Canadian Cancer Society Relay For Life by going to www.cancer.ca, clicking Relay for Life-Salt Spring Island and finding BEN’S TEAM, or a charity of your choice.

NOVEMBER 15, 1919 – APRIL 24, 2009

Our feisty and much loved Mum passed away peacefully in Lady Minto Hospital on April 24, 2009. Survived by her children: Gail, Jennifer, Christopher and Waynne. So many years of entertainment and surprises – we will miss all that, along with your boundless enthusiasm and optimistic outlook.

Cheers, Mumsy dear and may the next round be as much fun.

We Love You

The family would like to thank Bobby

Crichton for his kindness and excellent care, and the wonderful nurses who work so hard — we are so very lucky to have you here.

August 22, 1918 – April 24, 2009

Elizabeth Eileen Dring, (nee Labrie), passed away at the Lady Minto Extended Care Unit on Friday April 24, 2009 at 90 years of age. Betty was born August 22, 1918 in Vancouver, BC to Charles and Gwendolyn Labrie. People on Salt Spring Island have known her as Betty since she moved here in 1992. Betty lived life with great flair and often appeared larger than life to others.

She lived in London during WWII and was engaged for a time to a Battle of Britain pilot. She auditioned and was considered for the lead role in “National Velvet”, which eventually went to Elizabeth Taylor. After the war she married her first husband, Richard “Dick” Neville, with whom she lived in London, New York, Jamaica and the Dominican Republic during the reign of the infamous Trujillo, whom she claimed to have met.

When her first marriage ended, Betty returned to Vancouver to live with her parents. It was at this time that she suffered a fall down a flight of stairs and partially severed her spinal cord. After spending a year on a rotating board, her back healed and she was able to walk with a back brace. It was while wearing this back brace that she met her second husband, Wilfred Charles Dring, in Vancouver.

She gave birth to two sons in the early ‘60’s. She also appeared in some daytime television that aired on local Vancouver stations. For a short period, she was co-owner of a small art gallery in North Vancouver. The family moved to Montreal in 1966 where Betty stayed until the passing of her husband in 1990. Tiring of life in the big city, she sold her condominium and on a whim bought a house overlooking Ganges Village, while visiting a friend there in 1992. It was the home previously owned by Dr. Ernie Jarman. Betty had decorative flair and was proud of her home and its Japanese garden. She had a variety of interesting friends and would enjoy entertaining them.

She is survived by a son, Brian Randle Dring, and daughter-in-law Katherine Sebastian Dring, of Waterford, Connecticut, a grandson, Sean-Patrick Dring, a college student at the University of Connecticut, a brother, Peter Labrie, 91, of West Vancouver, BC, as well as nieces Chardon Labrie, Mary Labrie Egan, Christina Cleary, Kathryn Brown and nephews Tim Labrie, Shaun Labrie and Peter Labrie. She is predeceased by a son, David-Patrick Dring.She was also predeceased by brothers Patrick Labrie, Michael Labrie and Brian Labrie.

A memorial service was held Wed. Apr. 29th at the Community Gospel Chapel

Donations in Betty’s name can be made to the Lady Minto Hospital Foundation, 135 Crofton Road, Salt Spring Island, BC, V8K 1T1