Sheila KINGHAM

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KINGHAM: Sheila GracePassed away peacefully at home after a short fight with cancer on September 29, 2009. She will be deeply missed by her husband, Jim Skinner, her daughters Lisa, Leslie (John), Lynn and Karen (Mehmet), their nine grandchildren and brother Bruce (Gwyneth). Sheila was born on August 17, 1936 in Victoria into one of the city’s oldest families. She attended St. Margaret’s School, Victoria College and U.B.C. where she graduated with a degree in Microbiology. After raising her family, she obtained a second degree in General Studies at Brandon University and a Diploma in ESL while returning to the workforce first as Refugee Settlement Officer under the auspices of the United Nations in Manitoba where she assisted individuals and families from south east Asia adjust to life in a prairie province. She became a pillar of the women’s movement as a Rural Coordinator for the Status of Women. Her work in providing advice and support to women and their families on farms and small towns did not go unnoticed and in 1995 she was a recipient of the Governor- General’s Award in Commemoration of the Person’s Case. Her hobbies and interests were equally impressive whether it was playing banjo in a Dixieland jazz band, Calculated Risk, working to beautify her garden and the surrounding landscape or playing a spirited but sporting game of tennis. Her kindness to and genuine concern for family, friends and casual acquaintances was remarkable as was witnessed by the many expressions of love and admiration she received during her final illness from those whose lives she had touched. Hers was a life fully lived but also one lived to serve others. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Victoria Women’s Transition Society at transitionhouse.net/donate

As published in Brandon Sun on Oct 03, 2009