June 27, 2023
In Loving Memory ~
Donalda Frances Regehr, known to many as Nan, passed away peacefully at the age of 93 on June 27 at Cumberland Lodge.
Predeceased by her beloved husband Cliff, her brothers Ken and John, her sister, Peg, and her son-in-law Gary, she is survived by her four children, John, Beth, David and Daniel (Heather), six grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.
She was born in Port Arthur, Ontario in 1930 to John and Ida MacLeod. Her family moved to Winnipeg in 1942. In 1951, she obtained a bachelors degree in English and French literature at U of M, where she met Cliff. They married in 1952 and the kids arrived over the next eight years.
Donalda became involved in social justice work during the Cuban Missile Crisis, when she joined Voice of Women. She joined the NDP when it was the CCF and remained a member into her 80's.
The family moved to Vancouver in 1963. Always a seeker, Donalda was very active in the North Shore Unitarian Church. In 1966, she enrolled at Simon Fraser University for a year to acquire teaching credentials. She found fulfilling work and especially enjoyed running programs to help women enter the workforce. After all, she was a feminist, as were her mother and grandmother before her.
In 1981, she and Cliff moved to the Comox Valley. She took a job for StatsCan, driving all over the North Island, in good weather and bad, to collect data for the weekly Labour Force survey. Meanwhile, Cliff arranged for them to buy Laurel Lodge care facility in Courtenay, and she worked with him to create a homey atmosphere for the residents.
After they retired, they took a splendid tour of Europe, including visiting the villages from which their families emigrated to Canada.
Donalda made friends wherever she went because she was warm and welcoming, witty and smart, funny and droll, and interested in others. She loved reading, gardening, knitting and needlepoint, travel, and music, always music. Blessed with a lovely soprano voice, she sang all through her life.
Many thanks to the compassionate carers at Cumberland Lodge for making Donalda's last months comfortable. Her ashes will be taken to her beloved Hornby Island. Donations in her memory to the Nature Conservancy of Canada would be gratefully appreciated.