WYNNE ELISABETH EDWARDS (née WHYTE)

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WYNNE ELISABETH EDWARDS
(née WHYTE)

Wynne Edwards, born March 10, 1938, passed peacefully on Wednesday, September 22, 2021, in Winnipeg, MB. Wynne was predeceased in 2019 by her husband Larry, the love of her life, whom she met at Queen's University in Kingston when she was 17.
Wynne was born in Toronto, Ontario to Eileen Whyte (Talbot-Crosbie), a home economist, and Donaldson (Don) Whyte, an orthopedic surgeon. She was the second of three children, the only daughter. Wynne was predeceased by her brother Terry and is survived by her sons, Mark (Elizabeth), Paul (Anne) and Dan (Danielle), brother John (Tessa), sisters-in-law, Kathleen (Bud), and Shirley (Terry), eight grandchildren, Lauren, Maddie, Libby, Beth, Evan, Wynn, Adam, and Vincent, and two great-grandchildren, Theo and Cameron.
When Wynne was two, her father went to England and Belgium for six years during the Second World War with the Canadian Army to tend to the wounded, and Wynne lived with her mother and brothers in Aberfoyle, Ontario in the home of her maternal grandparents. She waited, not so patiently, for "Daddy" to come home. His absence in those early years left a mark that never wholly faded. When he returned to Canada, the family settled in 548 Weller St., Peterborough, which was Wynne's home until she left for Queen's.
In the first year of her Queen's B.A. in psychology she was introduced to Larry, a senior, by her brother Terry. They were married at home on Weller Street two years later, on December 21, 1957, and honeymooned at Limberlost Lodge near Huntsville. When a tree fell on their cabin in the middle of that longest night of the year, Larry rolled over and said: "Wynne, can you get up and fix that?" And she did, as she did a hundred thousand times over, for Larry, her children, her students, and anyone else in need. There wasn't a problem that Wynne couldn't fix.
After marriage, the cross-country whirlwind began. Larry was an Air Force pilot, then a minister in the United Church of Canada, and Wynne made homes, and many, many lifelong friendships, in Elginburg, Big Valley, Pincher Creek, West Vancouver, Swift Current, Scotland, Winnipeg, Regina, and again Winnipeg. In the early days those homes were United Church manses, in the shadow of the church, but they were always filled with love, laughter, strong colours and the aromas of good food (lots of good food).
In her early 30s, Wynne went to UBC, earned her M.Ed., and began her career as a teacher. She was born to teach. Above all else she was a good listener, a student and lover of people, especially children. She was energized by and enjoyed people and treasured their uniqueness. People fascinated her. She never stopped searching for what you did well, your special talent, your gift. Sometimes that was a serious search (Meyers-Briggs, Harvard's Multiple Intelligences), sometimes playful (handwriting analysis and palm reading), but most often it was simply listening to you, with her whole mind and heart. She believed no one was unworthy of her time and attention. Her ministry was building self confidence and self esteem in children. She was incredibly good at this and, as many of her students told her, it changed their lives.
For Wynne, life was theatre, a series of occasions. She loved dressing up - high heels, cashmere, pearls, flashy earrings - and she wouldn't be caught dead out of the house without lipstick. She always looked "put together" and caused great merriment by asking her grandchildren to address her as "Her Royal Highness". She never missed an opportunity to make something special, to make someone feel special, to make memories, to laugh loudly, to care deeply, to have some fun. And fun she had. Every difficult task or experience was made less difficult as a game, or by adding an indulgence or a tiny reward for getting through it, for doing it well. Wynne was loving, thoughtful, funny, impish, and whip-smart. She did life well.
The family wishes to thank special friend and caregiver Maggie Clarke, the staff of the Brightwater (Tuxedo), and Victoria General Hospital, both in Winnipeg, for their love, kindness, and compassionate care in Wynne's last months.
A celebration of Wynne's life will be held in Regina, Saskatchewan at a time and place to be determined.

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Oct 02, 2021