Gertrude BLANAR

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BLANAR: Gertrude “Trudy” Mary Blanar, March 30, 1934-July 19, 2019. It is with great sadness that we announce that Trudy Blanar died unexpectedly on Friday, July 19th at her home in Victoria, British Columbia. She was 85 years old. Gertrude “Trudy” Mary Blanar (née Eisner) was born in Montreal, Quebec on March 30, 1934, the youngest child of Fridolin and Barbara Eisner (née Stephanowski/Szepanowska). Predeceased by her brother, Alois “Al” Eisner, and her former husband, Michael Blanar; surviving family members are her sons Michael A. Blanar (Julie Vogel), Christopher J. Blanar (Lara Dziurdzy) and Martin A. Blanar. As a young adult, she was an accomplished violinist and studied at the Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal (Montreal Conservatory of Music). After marrying, she worked at the Royal Bank of Canada in Montreal and at the Royal Bank in London, England. Throughout the 1960’s, 1970’s and early1980’s, she focused on raising her three sons; first in Montreal, then in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and ultimately in Brandon, Manitoba. She was a “big city” girl, who with a mischievous wink in her eye, would jokingly suggest that the family go out to Halifax airport to watch “the plane” land. She loved driving along the Lakeshore in Pointe Claire and along the Atlantic coast near Peggy’s Cove. She cheerfully planned birthday parties for her sons, which typically included elaborately themed cakes and decorations, with the same attention as for frequent Brandon University faculty and executive functions,being the wife of the Dean of Arts. In time, she grew to appreciate the prairies and their stark beauty in all seasons. She had many friends and led an active social life. She satisfied her artistic urges, every few years, by embarking on intense activity in a diversity of pursuits including batik art, macramé, knitting and piñata-making. Invariably, her prolific output would be given away to friends or donated to charity auctions. When she retired, she determined that the frigid Manitoba winters were not for her. She eventually settled on a tenth-floor apartment, in the James Bay neighborhood of Victoria, British Columbia, with spectacular views of Ogden Point and the Pacific Ocean. She quickly made friends and explored all that Victoria had to offer. She enjoyed watching the cruise ships dock and was thrilled when a particular Silversea ship was in-town, since it gave her a chance to visit with her son, Martin, who worked on board. Every few months, she would host “the ladies” for bridge, a light lunch and lots of chatting. She always laughed that her name would be in the paper “next week” for winning with a particularly high bridge score. Looking out from the windows of her aerie home, the sunsets were glorious. In the fall, a gathering in her memory will be arranged at Victoria, British Columbia.

As published in Brandon Sun on Aug 06, 2019