Mary McLEAN

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McLEAN: Mary Irene (nee Watkinson) passed away at Fairview Nursing Home, Brandon, MB on Tuesday, May 21, 2013, at the age of 88, with her family by her side. She will be lovingly remembered by her daughters, Heather (Ralph) Warman, ex son-in-law Art Gauthier, Carol (George) Dennison, and Joanne (Charlie) Cobb. Nine grandchildren Rodney Gauthier, Glenn Gauthier, Natasha (Dwayne) Moorehead, and Justin (Angela) Gauthier, Edward (Lori) Hillis, Patricia (Grant) Dennison, William (Jill) Betts, Tyrus and Christine Cobb. Great- grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren, along with many other family and friends. She also leaves to mourn two brothers-in-law Harry McLean, Bruce (Donelda) McLean, one sister- in-law Isabelle (Ray) Yacyshen. She was predeceased by her parents Sid and May (Caverly) Watkinson, her in-laws Alex and Annie (McCrae) McLean, sister and brother-in-law Olive and Harris Hanson, sister-in-law Joan (Harburn) McLean, niece and nephew Anna and Duncan McLean, son-in-law Dale Betts. Mom was born in Cobalt, ON December 27, 1924 and was educated in Cobalt. She was the younger of two girls. The girls were brought up in a very religious family, along with being prim and proper which was the norm for girls in those days, but much to her parents dismay Mom turned out to be more of a tom boy, than a girl. She liked to play sports, baseball being her favourite, She also learned to play to play the violin as a young girl, but did not have to practice as she could play by ear, the teacher always played the piece the children had to learn, it was a while before anyone caught on that Mom was not learning how to read music, as she could play the piece of music perfectly each week. As a young woman she also wrote a lot of poetry for which she seemed to have a passion. She also had a bit of the devil in her, she mooned her sister's boyfriend and started to smoke when she was 13, and never quitting until the end of her life. Mom had a memory that amazed everyone; she never forgot a birthday, anniversary, or any other important date or person's name. When Mom decided it was time to move on she hitch hiked to Toronto to join the Royal Canadian Air Force at the age of 18. She took her basic training in Toronto and was then stationed in Ottawa for her time in the RCAF, during WWII. She received 2 medals from the Department of National Defence for her service years, which she wore proudly every November 11th on Remembrance Day. Mom met Dad in Toronto in 1943 at a dance club called Sunny Side, Dad and a buddy had gone to the dance, and after meeting Mom, the men had a disagreement about who was going to escort her home that evening and lucky for us three girls Dad won out. The courtship began and the marriage took place on December 22, 1944 in Cobalt, Ontario. .After the war they both took their discharge from the Canadian Forces, moved to Cobalt, Ontario to start a new life. Dad went to work in the gold mines, but Dad being from the Prairies did not like working underground, therefore he quit and rejoined the Army, which turned into a 25 year career for him and a life time of being a survivor for Mom. She raised us three girls pretty much on her own as Dad was never home. She had to pack up and move the family approximately every couple of years as the military kept their personnel on the move, she had to get our new home settled and find a job as a stenographer. Some of the places that we lived included Shilo, Rivers, Winnipeg, Kingston, Ontario, Calgary, Alberta, the last posting Dad received was to Edmonton, Alberta which is when he decided it was time to retire to the area that was to be home for rest of their lives, that being Douglas. Mom was a long time standing member of the Carberry Legion and the Eastern Star; she was also a member of the Douglas Women's Institute. Mom loved to play bingo, going to St. Hedwig's Church in Brandon with her in-laws and her own mother when she was in Douglas visiting. She also played every chance she had at the Douglas Hall. It didn't matter where our home was it was always open to anyone that wanted to visit and stay awhile, Dad's troops that had no other place to go except for a barrack room. Friends and relatives who dropped in for a visit or came to spend some time with family, along with having three daughters that brought our friends home for a couple hours, weekends and some came and stayed for years. All were welcome. Mom would never see anyone do without, she would feed you if you were hungry, make sure you had proper clothing and necessities. The moving didn't stop then. Dad had itchy feet and Mom followed whenever Dad decided it was time to move and start a new adventure. They moved to Winnipeg, so Dad could go back to school, and then it was off to Campbell River, BC, back to Douglas, then on to New West Minster, BC and finally back to Douglas. They also did a lot of travelling, and visiting relatives spread all over North America. Mom's medical problems started in 1996, and it was a battle from then on. She was a survivor in more ways than one. After the doctors kept telling the family that each crisis could be her last, she would pull through and carry on. She had a wicked sense of humour and it was hard to tell if it was fact or fiction that she was telling, especially if it was to someone that didn't really know her. I felt a lot of sympathy for the girls that took such good care of her at Fairview Home as lots of times I would be taken aside and asked if a story she had told them was true or not. Her favourite story for all was that when she had her first leg amputated she had kept her foot as a door stop and it would carry on from there, but her true passion was smoking and God help anyone that got between her and her cigarettes, she was fairly easygoing until someone tried to make her stop smoking. Mom was always there in good times and bad, her family came first even though there were times she could have killed us all I am sure. She will be missed by all of the family but she is now back with Dad whom she missed terribly after he passed away. She would always tell us that Dad was with her every day and she would talk to him about what was going on in her life. We will surely miss her, but her suffering is over and that is all we could ever want for a woman who had more strength and conviction than anyone, and she amazed everyone that knew her, and could get along with the Devil himself. I would like to thank Dr. G. Visser for his commitment and compassionate care over the years. I would also like to thank Greg at Memories Chapel for his help and consideration with the family, and a special thank-you to the Reverend Barb Jardine, she is an inspiration to all whom she has helped. Also a thank-you to Ross Campbell for doing the eulogy, and the pallbearers, Rodney Gauthier, Tyrus Cobb, Keith Hillis, Grant Dennison, Steve Blair, and Chesley Sheppard. Thank-you to all the girls and fellows at Fairview Home that looked after Mom after Dad's passing, along with Joe Reeves, and thank-you to all the family and friends who sent cards, flowers, and made donations in Mom's name. A memorial service was held at Memories Chapel on Wednesday, May 29th, 2013 with interment at Madford Cemetery. "We will miss you Mom"

As published in Brandon Sun on Aug 03, 2013