LILIAN ETHEL BIRD (BREWER)

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LILIAN ETHEL BIRD (nee BREWER) Peacefully on Thursday, June 16, 2011 at the Portage General Hospital, Lilian, beloved widow of the late Malcolm Bird, passed away at the age of 90 years, just short of her 91st birthday. Mom was born at Glyne Gap, Bexhill on Sea, Sussex, England, June 28, 1920. Mom left England for Canada on April 10, 1946 on MS Aquitania with hundreds of War Brides and Lord Alexander the new Governor General of Canada. She landed at Pier 21 in Halifax and arrived in Winnipeg via the train where she was met by her husband, Mac. They celebrated 51 years and 28 days of marriage with dad passing on November 4, 1996. Mom took a leading role in doing the ground work in what became The Manitoba War Brides Association . Mom greatly enjoyed her War Bride sisters whenever they came together. Mom was predeceased by her husband Mac; her parents George and Florence Brewer; sisters Cicely Carr and Kathleen Kelly; brother Walter Brewer; brothers-in-law Tom Kent, Fred Carr and Cliff Kelly, and nephew John Carr of England. She was also predeceased by her brother-in-law Everett Bird, his wife Lyla and their son, Delwyn; brother-in-law Ernest Wenham, brother-in-law Bertram Bird and his wife Fern, and brother-in-law Gordon Cohen. Left to mourn Lilian's passing are her sons Peter (Jane) Bird of Surrey, BC and Andrew (Nellie) Bird of Portage; grandchildren Stephanie (James) Kulferst of Vancouver, Nancy (Daryl) Martin of Toronto, Jennifer (David) Roy of Portage, Angela Bird (Josh) of Winnipeg and Shawn Bird (Jodi) of Winnipeg; great-grandchildren Jordann Zimmer, Kiera Roy, Grace Martin, Imogen Kulferst and Poppy Martin; two sisters and numerous nieces and nephews and their families all of England. Also to mourn her passing are her sister-in-law Hazel Wenham, nephew Clem (Diane) Wenham and their children Perry (Stacey) Wenham and their children Audrey, Cadance and Tatum; nephew Daniel Wenham all of Estevan, SK; sister-in-law Darlene Cohen of Portage; nephew Vincent (Jim) Chermishnok of Amsterdam, Netherlands; niece Valanne Chermishnok with her son Tyson of Portage; nephew Jim (Alice) Hudson of Kelowna, BC. She also had extended family, Robert (Nona) McMillan and their son Lyle (Michelle) McMillan and his family and their daughter Sharon (Jamie) Dent and their family; and Bruce (Shareen) Cook. There were other Bird families, Foster families, Patton families, West families, Bayes families, Tillett families all of Petersfield, Selkirk and Winnipeg, and her long time friend, Maureen Neufeld of British Columbia. A Celebration of Lilian's life will be on Thursday, June 23, 2011 at 2:00 p.m. at the First Presbyterian Church, Portage la Prairie, MB led by Rev. John Zondag. Interment will take place at Hillside Cemetery. As expressions of sympathy, if friends so wish, donations may be made in Lilian's memory to the Heart and Stroke Foundation, 103 Wilkinson Crescent, Portage la Prairie, MB R1N 1A7, CancerCare Manitoba Foundation Inc., 675 McDermot Ave., Winnipeg, MB R3E 0V9, or the Children's Wish Foundation, Portage Regional Committee, Box 1106, Portage la Prairie, MB R1N 3C5. A tree will be planted in memory and cared for by McKenzies Portage Funeral Chapel 857-4021. A message can be left in the on-line guest book at www.mckenziesportagefuneralchapel.com

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Jun 20, 2011