GRACE GLENN BOGGS

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GRACE GLENN BOGGS April 1, 1922 - December 25, 2007 Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon? Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life? . Mary Oliver When Grace April Glenn was born prematurely in Port Arthur, Ontario, on April 1, 1922, a nurse in training fashioned a homemade incubator to save her life. That act of faith against all odds marked Grace Glenn's 85 years and nine months: a short Scot with a tough exterior, Grace embraced her difficult life with an open, resilient heart. The daughter of Ethel Hogg of Schreiber, Ontario, and William Glenn of Shoal Lake, Manitoba, Grace grew up in the community of Strathclair where her father and grandfather built many of the town's municipal buildings. Grace's father, a talented musician and athlete, died on February 14, 1933, leaving Grace and her brother Jack to live with the MacDonald family (Mrs. Gibb) while Grace's mother entered training as a nurse. At 17, Grace took a job at the main branch of the Bank of Montreal on Portage where she saved funds to begin her own nursing career and to support her brother. She graduated from the Winnipeg General in 1946 and married Elvin Boggs in 1947. Grace gave birth to five children, one of whom, Jack, died at birth. She raised Lorraine (Lorri), Brian, Allison and Ron in a series of railway towns across Canada including Winnipeg (twice), Prince Albert, Edson, Saskatoon (twice), The Pas, Dauphin, and Thunder Bay. Her children remember her remarkable ability to do it all: manage a household on her own, teach Sunday School, volunteer with Girl Guides, CGIT, the VON and the Red Cross, and continue work as a part-time and full-time nurse in several communities. Her intelligence, quick wit, and strong command of the English language, coupled with her keen interest in ideas and new cultures, gave her children a strong upbringing, one that emphasized honesty, hard work, tolerance, openness, fairness and creativity. We recall, for example, a Vietnamese doctor in Saskatoon honouring Grace's work by spending a day to create an authentic Vietnamese meal in our home. We also recall her ability to knit a Cowichan sweater in three days or sew a graduation gown in a week while working several night shifts at the hospital; to pay for countless clarinet, piano and violin lessons; to listen to our stories and recount her own about Green Bluff School and her friend Bob; to make all meals from scratch, including a Saturday supper of Spanish rice or Sunday's dreaded tomato aspic. She traveled across Canada to visit her son in Ottawa and daughter in Halifax, as well as to England, Scotland, and Ireland, countries she loved. Grace had simple and inexpensive tastes: she was not a woman who aspired to trips to Hawaii. During the last 10 years of her life Grace was diagnosed with macular degeneration and lost her sight, but she remained in her apartment where she made her own meals and insisted on cooking Sunday dinner regularly for Ron and Annette and lunches for Allison. She listened to audio books Ron brought her but missed being able to see the photographs of her grandchildren. Grace is survived by her daughters Allison Marion (Marcel), and Lorri Neilsen Glenn (Allan Neilsen), her sons Brian Boggs (Eileen Duffin), Ron Andrews (Annette) as well as four grandsons, David Neilsen, Michael Marion, Jesse Neilsen and Andrew Boggs. As well, Grace is survived by her beloved friend Millie Cluett, her cousin Jean Gerrard from Strathclair, friend Jean MacDonald, Grace's brother Jack, sister-in-law Mary, and several nephews (Doug, Bill, and David Glenn) and a niece (Marilyn Glenn). Grace made several friends over her years at 135 Niakwa Road and was grateful for the kindnesses of Sheldon, Jack, Colin, Bob, and Aline. Grace Glenn Boggs died of a rare and rapidly-progressing form of kidney cancer and spent her last three weeks at the St. Boniface Hospital (Ward 5B), including the Paramjit Gill Palliative Room. She died peacefully and quietly the morning of December 25, 2007, at 11:45 a.m. All of Grace's children as well as her grandson Michael and son-in-law Marcel were by her side. The family wishes to express their deepest thanks and appreciation to the many nurses, aides, doctors and health-care providers who gave our mother treatment and care that was marked with dignity, respect, humour, and compassion. We will never forget your kindnesses. In 2008, Grace's children will create a bursary in her honour to support the education of a nursing student from rural Manitoba. Donations for that bursary can be made in her name through Brian, Ron, Allison or Lorri (contact information through Neil Bardal). Interment will be in Strathclair, Manitoba, in the summer of 2008 at which point a notice about the gathering will be printed in local newspapers. The poet Raymond Carver asked: And did you get what/you wanted from this life, even so? Grace did. She was able to call herself beloved, to feel herself/beloved on the earth. A memorial reception will be held on Sunday, December 30, 2007, from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. at Neil Bardal Inc, 984 Portage Avenue (Aubrey Street entrance), where Grace's family and friends are welcome to gather, celebrate her life, and offer remembrances. Neil Bardal Inc. 949-2200 nbardal.mb.ca

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Dec 29, 2007