ELSIE VERNA MOFFATT

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ELSIE VERNA MOFFATT Peacefully, on Sunday, October 1, 2006 at the Selkirk General Hospital, our beloved mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and sister, Elsie Moffatt passed away at the age of 85 years. Elsie was predeceased by husband Harold Moffatt on December 2, 1986, daughter Faye Loutit on April 15, 1986, granddaughter Karli Moffatt on April 29, 1978 and parents, Marshall and Gladys (nee Sweetland) Barlow. She leaves to mourn her passing, sons, Ken (Lawanna) of Winnipeg, Barry (Diane) of Selkirk, Curtis (Jo-Ann) of Selkirk and daughter Beverley Taggart of Calgary, AB, as well as son-in-law Robert Loutit (Leslie) of Lockport, MB. She is also survived by 11 grandchildren and their partners and 13 great-grandchildren, Terry (Cheri - Theron, Nolan, Aidan), Tanys (Boyd - Taryn, Jennifer, Sydney), Brandi (DeVante), Quinn (Christa), Jill (Keith - Carli, Matthew, Cassidy, Cyr), Tara-Lee (Chris - Cadance), Jason (Lisa - Lexus), Cory, Drew, Dustin, Kelsey. Surviving also are sisters, Bernice Lee, Dorothy Massey and Sylvia Thorgilsson (Einar), as well as brother-in-law Claire Moffatt; sisters-in-law, Winnie Moffatt, Marie Moffatt, Avonna Moffatt, Shirley Winstone and many nieces, nephews and cousins. Elsie was the oldest of four daughters and was born in Lundar, MB on the family farm on October 9, 1920. We enjoyed hearing Elsie and her sisters talk of the many stories and memories they had of growing up together on the farm. She attended school at Minnewaken until Grade 10 and then took correspondence courses to complete her education. At the age of 18, she moved to Winnipeg and worked as a housekeeper for a short time. She then moved to Selkirk to start nurses training at the Selkirk Mental Health Centre. It was there that she met Harold. When Harold enlisted in the Army, he was sent to British Columbia for training. Elsie followed shortly after and on January 21, 1943 they were married in Nanaimo, BC. From there, they moved to Montreal. When Harold was sent overseas, Elsie returned to Selkirk and in November 1944, son Kenneth was born. Elsie and Ken lived with sister Dot and good friend Winnie Cranna until Harold was discharged from the Army, returning to Selkirk in 1946. Harold returned to work as an x-ray technician at the Selkirk Mental Health Centre. They resided on McLean Avenue, Vaughan Avenue and finally on Sutherland Avenue where Elsie remained until February of this year. She stayed with Barry and Diane until June 19, 2006, when she moved into Red River Personal Care Home. Elsie loved her church and was a devoted and dedicated member of Selkirk United. She attended services every Sunday until poor health prevented her from doing so. Elsie stated that is was her faith that sustained her when Faye and Harold passed away just a few months apart. She was an active member of Chapter G of the P.E.O. Sisterhood for many years holding several offices in her Chapter. Her sisters will miss her deeply. Elsie loved gardening, especially flowers. At her home on Sutherland Avenue, she still has perennial plants that were from her Grandma Sweetland. She loved to feed the birds and she had three bird feeders outside her window at Red River Place. She enjoyed doing the crossword puzzle in the newspaper everyday right up until the day before she passed away. Scrabble was her favourite board game. She always had her change jar ready for an exciting game of 31. Family birthdays were celebrated every month and Elsie baked her famous chocolate layer cake for each of them until two years ago when she was unable to do so. She was a quiet woman who never wanted to create attention to herself and was always willing to help others. She never imposed on anyone and never wanted to be a bother or nuisance. She had great inner strength. She had a wonderful sense of humour and enjoyed a good joke including some of the pranks her boys played on each other and on her. Her children and grandchildren adored her. She was a loving and caring mother to her children and a true mother to Lawanna, Diane, Jo-Ann and Rob. The family wishes to thank friends and neighbours Dennis and Georgie Shackleford, Nancy and Mary Bowser, Joyce Shead, Don and Erna Iwanoczko and Audrey Zieroth, as well as the other neighbours on Sutherland Avenue for all their kindness, concern and friendship given to Elsie over the years. Thank you to the staff at the Selkirk General Hospital who cared for Elsie during her three admissions there in the past year and to the ICU staff who cared for her on Sunday. Thank you also to the wonderful staff at Red River Place who made Elsie feel so welcome and at home and for the care given to her. We will miss you Mom. Rest in peace. A celebration of Elsie's life will be held on Friday, October 6 at 2:00 p.m. at the Selkirk United Church with Rev. Deborah Vitt and Rev. Ken DeLisle officiating. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Selkirk United Church. Gilbart Funeral Home, Selkirk in care of arrangements.

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Oct 04, 2006