MOLLY MANBY

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MOLLY MANBY Molly Manby, beloved wife of the late Del (Jim), passed away at the Brandon Regional Health Centre on November 5, 2009 at the age of 88 years. Molly was born in Winnipeg, MB, auspiciously, on Labour Day, September 1, 1921, one of 10 children of Michael and Dora Michelanko. Molly grew up in The Great Depression. She told tales of this time in the north end of Winnipeg: going down to the rail yards to poach fruit and vegetables from the loading docks, saving up the odd five cents to get in to see the newsreels and movies on a Saturday afternoon - or sneaking in instead. Her father died in an accident when she was 10 years old and she left school at grade nine to work and help support her family which was subsequently in the care of her mother. In her teenage years, Molly started working during the summers at Devil's Gap Camp in the Lake of the Woods area of North-Western Ontario, a place where she would spend time for parts of most of her remaining 70 or so years. During the Second World War, Molly moved to the Toronto area to work in the factories, working in Downsview for de Havilland Canada on aircraft such as the Mosquito Bomber. This experience started a life-long familiarity and facility with tools of all kinds and fostered her ability to create, build and fix almost anything. She would send part of her wages from this time back home to help out her Mom. Molly met Del Manby before he went overseas for five years and she worked in the war factories. On July 30, 1946 they returned to Winnipeg and were married. They honeymooned at Bennett's Camp at Laclu, again in the Lake of the Woods area. In spite of being terrified of water, Molly let Del talk her into an extended canoe trip as part of this time. Molly and Del started their family in Winnipeg with the birth of Dawn in 1951, followed 18 months later by Ed in 1952, and 11 years after that by George in 1963. During the early fifties, Del worked as a Stationary Engineer at Central Heat and Bristol Aerospace while Molly worked cooking, sewing, cleaning and raising the family. Frequent trips were made in the old Model A to Uncle Henry's farm in Brookdale and later to visit Henry and his wife Mary when they moved to Neepawa. The mid-fifties saw a return to the Lake of the Woods as visits to Grandma Olsen's camp at Culloden Lake began and were the genesis of what would become a second home for the family for the next 50 years. Land was purchased from the Olsen family in 1965 and two years of camping out in the big blue tent, with many adventures including a hailstorm that ripped holes through the canvas, were followed by building a cabin in 1967. The cabin at Culloden Lake was the start of many years worth of labour and love by Molly, usually enlisting others in the family as her sometimes-capable assistants. Over the years Molly built a rock garden, rock patios, rock walls, rock planters, a rock staircase and a cement pond. To achieve all of this, large hunks of the Canadian Shield were relocated from their previous resting places miles away. Molly also contributed to the construction of a garage, boathouse, numerous sheds and a set of cement stairs; she performed all sorts of maintenance tasks and planted an uncountable number of trees. She spent whole summers scouring shorelines for driftwood and tramping through the bush picking blueberries while yodelling with her old friend Louise Lund, all usually in the company of the family dogs - first Rusty and then Robie. Almost every summer evening was spent out on the lake fishing. In 1967, the family moved west from Winnipeg to Brandon. Del continued to work as a Stationary Engineer while Molly worked in the home and began to accumulate an extensive repertoire of abilities and accomplishments. She taught herself how to paint in oils and, when the only easel available in Brandon at the time was wobbly, she built her own. She took up stained glasswork, wood carving, and sewed toques and mittens and various costumes for various occasions, often working without a pattern. Having always wanted to play a musical instrument, she started trumpet lessons at the Brandon University Conservatory when she was in her 50s. Molly joined the YMCA shortly after coming to Brandon. She took up running and in the ParticipACTION era of the 1970s ran many, many miles in the gym, making her fitter than most anyone - including 70 year old Swedes. When her knees started acting up, she overcame her lifelong fear of water and learned to swim. In 1981, at the age of 60, she obtained her Bronze Cross from the Royal Life Saving Society. For almost ten years afterwards she volunteered to teach seniors, many of them younger than her, to swim at the Y and Sportsplex pools. She was eventually awarded a lifetime membership at the YMCA for her efforts. After belatedly admitting that she might in fact be a senior herself, Molly became active at the Prairie Oasis Senior Centre, joining her lifelong friend Greta (Bumps) Stewart in clogging classes. This eventually led to a trip to Calgary to perform at the Stampede. She and Bumps waited tables at the monthly dinners and on holidays they dressed up in elaborate costumes that she made to entertain the seniors. Many hours were also spent packing seeds to raise money for the Centre. During these years, Molly and Bumps began a barnstorming tour of local casinos, often dodging moose on the way back from Belcourt in the middle of the night. As she grew older Molly continued to help others, not only in institutional settings like the Y and Prairie Oasis, but also on a more personal level. She spent time with friends from the Y, Frank and Millie Pritchard, working in their yard, getting them groceries or just visiting over tea, especially after Frank died. Molly did the same thing for years for her friend Dorothy Mitchell when she became unable to get out on her own. Still giving scant concession to her own advancing years, when fate dropped a piano in her living room, Molly started lessons at the age of 83. She continued to work, build, carve, paint, create and do. She had an inexhaustible energy and an insatiable interest in things - whether it was taking a closer look so she could build her own whatever, or scooping a baby beaver out of the lake with a fishing net just to get a better look. Late this summer, a strange case of synchronicity saw Molly fall off a ladder at the lake, just like her old fishing buddy Fred Grimwood did a few years ago when in his late 80s. She broke her arm - not initially anything to worry about as she had so often been stitched, mended and healed from so many injuries sustained in doing so much over the years, and had survived colon cancer for 13 years after being given a 50/50 chance. But after a three-hospital odyssey Molly's condition worsened. She succumbed to acute lymphoma in the early afternoon of November 5. Even in her last months spent in the General and Assiniboine Centres, Molly endeared herself to the people around her. This was a defining characteristic of her long life. She made people smile, laugh or just feel better - even through brief interactions, even just for a moment. Molly channelled a fearsome energy and she always tried, in her own way, to care for others and to show her love. Few who encountered Molly over the years went away unaffected, most often they walked away shaking their heads - usually some combination of bemused, befuddled and bewitched. She will be missed. Molly was predeceased by her son, Ed, in 1969 and her husband, Del, in 1987. She is survived by her daughter, Dawn, of Winnipeg and son, George, of Brandon; by her sisters, Mary, of Winnipeg and Vickie, of North Vancouver. Cremation has taken place; at Molly's request there will be no service. Dawn and George gratefully decline flowers. Donations in memory of Molly may be made to the Brandon Humane Society, 2200-17th St. East, Brandon, MB, R7A 7M6. Dawn and George would like to thank Dr. Scott Blythe for his years of looking after and looking out for their Mom and for his attention, concern, and caring at the end of her life. Many thanks as well to the nursing staff on the second floors of the General and Assiniboine Centres. Arrangements were in care of Brockie Donovan Funeral and Cremation Services, Brandon, (204) 727-0694.

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Nov 14, 2009