July 26, 2019
Wendy Jean Elizabeth Askew died peacefully at the Comox Valley Hospital on Friday, July 26, 2019, having lived 100 years, 7 months and 24 days. She was lovingly cared for in the transition unit for 18 weeks after breaking her hip. When asked her age, she'd chirp, "Damned old!"
She was daughter to Frank Ashfield and Lois Prickett, sister to Mary (Chuck Thody) and Bud (Elizabeth Hinton), wife to John Askew, mother to Kathryn Askew (Frank Burden), grandmother to Penny and Jill Gotto (Mark Munn) and great-grandmother to Sawyer Munn Gotto.
Charismatic from the beginning, Jean renamed herself "Wendy" when she was seven after attending a stage play of Peter Pan. She belonged to a group of seven girls who met at Kitsilano High and partied together for the rest of their lives. A stenographer, she worked for architects, psychiatrists, municipal councils and the GF Strong Rehabilitation Centre - all while raising a daughter, developing a summer home at Canim Lake in the Cariboo with her husband Johnny, and coordinating countless celebrations after BC Lions games, Beta Sigma Phi and Rotary gatherings, and bridge parties for her many friends. She LOVED to entertain, and she was brilliant at it. Wendy began to paint in her 60s - first in oils, then pastels and watercolours. She chaired the Saanich Peninsula Arts Council for many years and participated with the D'Esterre painters in Comox. In recent years Wendy enjoyed the company of friends at the Courtenay Legion.
Wendy loved fiercely. She lived for Christmas and birthdays and was happiest in the company of family. Hers was a life filled with determination and boundless enthusiasm.
The Celebration of Life for Wendy Askew, previously announced for Sunday September 29th, has been postponed until December 1st. Further details will follow.
"Live each day to the fullest, as if it were the only one you had." Elisabeth Kubler-Ross