NETA AILEEN SILVESTER

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NETA AILEEN SILVESTER October 30, 1914 - October 14, 2014 Dear Neta passed peacefully from her full life on October 14, just two weeks shy of her 100th birthday. She will be lovingly remembered by her daughter, Deanna (Colin) and her son, David (Ely), her four grandchildren Shannon (Dan) and Scott in BC and Jonathan and Sara in England, four great- grandchildren, her dear nephew Grant Riddell and his wife Fran, as well as some long time friends in Winnipeg and in Ottawa, as well as new friends in The Pinecrest. Neta was predeceased by her first husband Emerson Riddell (1945) and her husband of 62 years, Maitland Silvester (2009), as well as by her eldest daughter, Linda Riddell Nash, her sister Mimi and her brother Ivan Betts. Neta was born in Woodstock, New Brunswick, moving to Montreal to train as an R.N at the Montreal General Hospital (class of 1937) and nursed part-time until she was 65. While in Montreal, Neta met and married Emerson Riddell and became a beloved member of the Riddell Clan, into which her first children Linda and David were born. After Emerson died overseas and the Second World War ended, Neta met and married Maitland (a returning veteran) and a few years after Deanna was born, they moved to Winnipeg to work and bring up their family, a city they both so enjoyed and appreciated. Neta was one of the original members of the Kinsmen Reh-Fit Centre on Taylor Avenue and went there faithfully three afternoons a week for over 25 years, walking and exercising with her good friend, Joy. Neta and Mait both loved being physically active, they walked daily together winter and summer, x-c skied and biked in their beloved Assiniboine Park. They enjoyed creating a beautiful flower and vegetable garden in their yard every summer (Neta had an amazing green thumb!), as well as hosting backyard BarBQ's with friends and neighbours on Renfrew Street. They also so enjoyed their yearly March holiday in Hawaii. Neta loved to travel and explored the Orient, Europe, Great Britain, the! United States and across Canada. She also treasured her bridge group of many years (Inez, Nora and Alida). A private family remembrance will occur on what would have been Neta's 100th birthday. Her family is grateful for the tender and respectful care she received at The Pinecrest Home in Kenora where Neta moved in her last few years to be closer to her daughter.

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Oct 18, 2014