EVA EMILY BRIANT -

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EVA EMILY BRIANT 1912 - 2010 With strength of spirit Eva passed away Friday, October 1, 2010 at the Grace Hospital. Born to Mary Elizabeth (Donning) and Septimus Ainsworth, who homesteaded in Crichton, Saskatchewan, Eva was one of seven siblings. The family moved to Alexander, Manitoba where Eva went to school. After graduating as a registered nurse from Dauphin General Hospital School of Nursing, she married Orland Van Norman Farrell. Their daughter Pat was born during the war and, when Orland returned from active service as an R.C.A.F. Flight Lieutenant, they moved to Morris, Manitoba where he practiced law. During her Morris years, Eva was very active in the United Church and there donated many hours of volunteer work. Creative and skillful, she was instrumental in ensuring that the Morris skating club had the costumes it required. When Orland died, Eva took a refresher course in nursing at Vancouver General Hospital, following which she and Pat moved to Dauphin, Manitoba where she was the operating room supervisor for many years. During the last weeks of her life, she said that she was so proud to be a nurse and that she loved her time in the operating room. She spent many hours creating an operating room manual for use by nurses and other staff in the O.R. One New Year's evening in 1963, when she had just climbed into bed, her sister-in-law phoned and convinced her to come to the dinner and dance at the Legion and that someone would be sent to fetch her. After much persuading, she agreed. The person that came to get her was George Frederick Briant and just a few months later they were married. George brought his children, Rosemary, Bob, Gloria, and Wanda into the family. Eva and George had many happy years together visiting children, relatives and friends across Canada. In addition to yearly road trips, one of their great passions was camping and fishing and this continued when they retired and moved to Winnipeg. Towards the end of her life, when she was in a nursing home and confined to a wheelchair, she often would say to George, let's go fishing. And he always replied, we will. Eva was known for her wicked sense of humour and she never lost this even towards the end of her life. Her contributions to her family were many. In addition to her faithful love and loyalty, we all appreciated her wonderful gifts of Easter bunny buns, and her delicious food contributions to our yearly Farrell / Nuttall Christmas parties. Together with George, her daughter Pat, son-in-law Gary and family, Eva enjoyed years of wintering in Sarasota, Florida and also many summers spent in the upper cabin on Rainy Lake in Fort Frances, Ontario. And when we all were living in Winnipeg, rarely a Sunday passed without getting together for brunch or dinner. Our family photo albums are rich with memories of these moments together. Eva enjoyed the experiences of being at her grandchildren's weddings and later, cuddling her great-grandchildren. She was known as G'ma to Jack and Aria and as Great-Grandma to Ace, Max and Blake. After a July, 2010 visit Ace said, Great-Grandma doesn't look that old. She was 98. And she indeed was a beautiful woman, inside and out, all of her life. Eva was predeceased by her parents, her siblings, Jack, Jim, Harry, Lou, Tom and Bill, her husband Orland, daughter Rosemary, and grandson Dale (her special friend). Left to remember her love and loyalty are husband George, daughter Pat (Gary), daughters Gloria and Wanda (Bill), son Bob (Kathy), grandchildren, Laurie (Don), Mark (Sylvia), Greg (Heather), Andrea, Patrick, Heather, Cara Joy, and Mylee, nephew Clive, nieces Susan and JoAnn, and all of her wonderful great-grandchildren. A heartfelt thanks to the gifted staff at Golden Door where she received loving care for over three years and, more recently to the wonderful staff at Extendicare Oakview Place where she was transferred to be with her husband George. As well, thank you to all those at Grace Hospital who, in the final hours helped us balance dignity with hope. No formal service will be held. THOMSON IN THE PARK 925-1120 Condolences may be sent to www.thomsoninthepark.com

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Oct 04, 2010