JANET MCKINNON

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JANET MCKINNON Janet McKinnon, beloved mother, grandmother (Gammy ) and great grandmother passed away peacefully with her family by her side in Calgary October 4, 2009 at age 93. She was predeceased by her husband of 65 years, Garfield in 2002 and an infant son Randy in 1956 as well as two sisters and two brothers. She is survived by her daughters, Carole Ash (Winnipeg) and Marlene (Lewis) Bedford of Calgary, six grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren as well as two brothers-in-law, Pete and Rainie (Alyce) and many nieces and nephews. Born in Darlingford, she grew up in Foxwarren where she married Garfield in 1936. Janet worked as a telephone operator. They moved to Winnipeg where they owned and managed Arden Jewelry and Gifts and later Janet worked at the Winnipeg Tribune while raising the family in St Vital and Windsor Park. They belonged to the Transcona and St. Boniface Golf Clubs and later BC's Cowichan Golf Club. They spent many years enjoying their motorhome and later the cottage at Lee River. In 1976, they retired to Cobble Hill, BC for 20 years where Janet volunteered at the Cowichan Lodge and in 1996, moved to Calgary to be nearer family. Janet was an eager learner, mastering calligraphy, the organ, photography, driving a car, golfing, and the computer, all later in life. She was an avid reader and loved the English language, playing scrabble, word games, writing poems and rhymes. She left us three gifts of her writing: There'll be No Christmas This Year , a story of her early years growing up in Foxwarren during the 20's and the 30's, Cooking Up a Memory , a cook book of favourite family recipes and Family Ties , a family history. She was an accomplished seamstress and knitter, making many of our clothes and costumes, and beautifully handcrafted quilts, afghans, sweaters, mitts and scarves, exquisite needlepoint and petit point pictures. Janet had a gift for making lifelong friends from Foxwarren, St Vital, Windsor Park, BC and Calgary. She was a woman of dignity and integrity, our moral compass. She and her family weathered the depression and the Second World War, which taught them the independence she passed on to us. She was devoted to her family. Cremation has taken place. At her request, her ashes will be scattered over a place of her choosing. A private family memorial will be held in Calgary to mourn her passing and celebrate her life. I am tired. I am weary. I am worn. Take my hand, Precious Lord. Lead me Home. -Thomas A. Dorsey In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Autism Society of Manitoba, the Cystic Fibrosis Society of Calgary or the Canadian Diabetes Association, Alberta Division.

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Oct 07, 2009