IRENE RADCLIFFE

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IRENE RADCLIFFE (née MARY IRENE MARTIN) Irene died peacefully in Toronto on January 15, 2018, aged 99. Born in Coventry, England, to Mary and John, she was the eldest of three daughters. Irene remained close to her sisters, Ena and Connie, throughout their lives. During the Second World War, Irene experienced the Blitz and met her future husband, Gordon, a Canadian soldier with the Cameron Highlanders. As a war bride, she crossed the Atlantic and made the "never-ending" train journey from Halifax to Winnipeg to join Gordon. Irene lived most of her adult life in East Kildonan, raising her son, John, working at Great-West Life and baking her famous apple pies. Irene was devastated when Gordon died in 1980. Late in life, she left her treasured home of 50 years to join John, her daughter-in-law, Ayala, and granddaughters, Liat and Talia, in Toronto. Visits with her great-granddaughters, Ariella and Orly, were the highlights of her last decade. A private memorial will be held Sunday in Toronto.

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Jan 20, 2018