September 1, 2021
Doreen was born in Vancouver in 1927 when it was a much smaller city and grew up during the depression and Second World War. She started her young adult life leaving school at the age of 16 to take a job with the BC Telephone Company.
At 17 she met Elwood, her future husband, at a United Church youth group. Two years later they began a long marriage which was to last almost 67 years.
In 1949 Doreen moved with her husband to Nanaimo where he began his teaching career and Doreen became a full-time mother that same year with the birth of her first of four children. Doreen was a devoted wife and mother. She made the role of homemaker her lifelong profession providing care and comfort to her family.
She and Elwood both enjoyed music and were enthusiastic early supporters of the Malaspina Choir and the Vancouver Island Symphony as well as attending many other local musical and dramatic events throughout the years.
Doreen also enjoyed travel making her first long camping trip with Elwood to Yellowstone Park in 1956 when her children were only six, five and three years old. Many other camping adventures were to follow along with travel to Hawaii and Europe in later years.
Doreen and Elwood were dog lovers. Over the years they enjoyed the company of several dogs including two Shelties and a Cocker Spaniel. The daily walk in the neighbourhood with the dog was an important part of their routine.
Doreen continued to maintain her home and host family visits into her late eighties. She is predeceased by her husband, Elwood, her parents and one sister; and is survived by her four children, five grandchildren, two great-grandchildren as well as a sister and brother.
A family gathering will be held at a later date. She was a part of our lives for a very long time, and we will miss her.