Aug 13, 1930 - Mar 8, 2018
Anne passed away peacefully at the age of 87. She will be greatly missed by her daughter Jo-Anne, son-in-law Rene, grandchildren Anne and Matthew. She is also survived by Riek, Peter, Henk, Evert, Fern and family.
Anne was born and raised in The Netherlands. In 1954 she went to Exeter, England where she became a State Registered Nurse. It was there where she met her long-time friend Amy Stevens. After Exeter, the pair went to work in Edinburgh and then down to Cambridge where Anne was a surgical nurse. Soon after they set off to Canada and worked in Hamilton, Ontario. Their R.N. qualifications offered the adventurous ladies the opportunity to work in hospitals pretty much wherever they went and they usually stayed just long enough to save up for the next trip.
They next went on a cruise to Bermuda with tours around the Caribbean, Mexico and the United States. Once back in Hamilton they were soon off again by train across Canada to jobs in Nelson. From there they embarked on a world cruise from Vancouver that included stops at Hawaii, Fiji, New Zealand, Australia, the Philippines, Hong Kong, India, Egypt, Italy, Portugal and finally London. Once back in England they returned to their previous jobs in Cambridge.
It was not long before they were missing Canada and returned to Nelson where they remained. They both worked at Kootenay Lake District Hospital until retirement. Anne married Joseph Niven in 1968 and together they continued to enjoy their shared joy in travel with visits to Europe. Later, they got a motorhome and had great pleasure in exploring Western Canada and parts of the United States.
After Joseph passed away Anne lived with Jo-Anne and loved spending everyday with her grandchildren and watching them grow.
We wish to thank all our wonderful friends and neighbours for their kindness and support. We would also like to thank all those involved in Anne's care at Mountain Lake.
Donations may be made to Kootenay Lake Hospital Foundation.
You are invited to leave a personal message of condolence by visiting the family's online register at www.thompsonfs.ca.