WAKELIN, Elsie Joyce
October 18, 1923 鈥� September 11, 2005
It is with great sadness we announce the passing of our dearly beloved wife and mother on September 11, 2005. She is survived and will be sadly missed by her devoted husband of 61 years Kenrick, loving daughter Janette (Alan) of Merville, loving sons Trevor (Pauline) of Whitecourt, Neil (Anne) of Vancouver, Keith (Deborah) of Merville, and Stephen of Courtenay. She was a dearly loved Nana to granddaughters Alana (Michael) of Nanaimo, Anne-Marie (Derick) of Calgary, Erika (Robert) of Leslieville, Heather of Vancouver, Lindsay of Victoria, and grandsons Kaje (Clelia) in Australia, Soren in Korea, Kevin of Courtenay, Matthew of Vancouver, and Super-Nana to Brandon, Robbie and Alex of Leslieville, and Kieran and Liam of Nanaimo. She is also survived by her sisters, Olive and Edna in New Zealand, and her many nieces and nephews.
Elsie was born and grew up in Wellington, New Zealand. She was working as a librarian when she met the love of her life. Ken was about to leave for service in the 2nd World War, he asked her to marry him and so began their great love story. During the War, Elsie worked as a tram conductor and one of the family鈥檚 favourite photos of her is in her 鈥榯rammies鈥� uniform. When the war was over, Elsie and Ken started their married life together in New Zealand, where all their children were born. Elsie spent the rest of her life in the role of a devoted wife, mother and grandmother, a career to which she placed the utmost importance. To her, the family meant everything. In October 2004 they celebrated sixty years of loving marriage together. Their devotion to each other will continue to be a great example to all the family.
Elsie and Ken immigrated to Canada in 1974 and settled on Vancouver Island in Sayward, later moving to Race Point, Campbell River where they enjoyed many retirement years. Early 2004, they moved to their current home in Merville. Elsie turned every house into a home and loved being surrounded by nature and having a view of the water. With Ken鈥檚 help, she landscaped and created beautiful gardens everywhere they lived. She delighted in the wild birds and animals and always provided food and shelter for them. She especially loved the hummingbirds, raccoons, squirrels and rabbits that visited her gardens.
Elsie also had many pets throughout her lifetime - canaries and budgies, four dogs and countless cats! All of whom she loved dearly.
Her other favourite past time was reading. She had a wonderful quest for knowledge and especially loved to read about animals, health and spiritual growth. Her family photo albums were also a great joy to her.
Although the past year has at times been a struggle for her, Elsie kept her sense of humour, and enjoyed many precious times with her family. She graciously accepted help when it was needed and many have come to know her quiet beauty during this time. Special thanks go to Dr Steven Miller for his unconditional support of her decisions and overwhelming gratitude and thanks go to Dr Christoph Kind for his genuine concern for Elsie鈥檚 health and comfort, for always being there when she needed his professional help and advice, for his prayers, and indeed, for the love he gave her.
At Elsie鈥檚 request, a gathering for family and friends will be held in her garden to scatter her ashes amongst the roses - 10:30am Sunday, September 18, 2005. Please phone 337 2288 for directions to the garden.