November 20, 1929 - August 24, 2021
Born: Trail, B.C. November 20, 1929 ~ Died: Nelson, B.C. August 24, 2021
Anne was the second of four children and the first Canadian born child of Peter and Magdalena Shewchuk. Anne grew up in Castlegar and enjoyed swimming by the Robson ferry and eating fresh tomatoes from the garden. As a teenager she sold movie tickets at the Castle Theatre.
She met her future husband John, a farm boy from Creston, at a community dance and after a few rides on his Harley the rest is history. They were married in 1949. They travelled the province following John's hydrometric survey work.
Their four children were born in different locations around the province. The family settled in Nelson in 1966.
Anne was predeceased by her parents, the love of her life John, brother Bill and sister Helen.
She is survived by daughters Janet (Grant), Linda (Rick), son Davin (Joan), and daughter Holly (David).
Missed by her grandchildren Brad (Tamara), Don (Emma), Claire (Mike), Scott (Ana), Heather (Quentin), Michael (Jessy), Jeremy, Marcus, Rulon (Paige), Rowan, and Hannah (Mike). As well as her much loved eleven great grandchildren who will miss this fun Grandma.
Anne was a devout Catholic and an active member of the Catholic Women's League for over sixty years including time as President. Anne enjoyed her adventures with the Red Hat Society.
She also enjoyed socializing with friends over coffee, especially her A&W coffee group and her Church coffee group.
Anne also had a great sense of humour. One April Fool's Day about 45 years ago, Anne decided for a prank she would phone her neighbor and tell her that a doe and a fawn were in the backyard. She told her to come to the front door. On arriving, she realized it was a joke and just an excuse to get together for coffee. They then phoned other neighbors and friends one by one to come see the deer.
As the numbers increased, the new arrivals were greeted with a welcome surprise of the full house. They were quite proud of themselves as a dozen friends had a rambunctious all morning coffee party.
Going downtown with Mom was always an event. As she walked around doing her errands, rarely did you go more than 30 or 40 feet without someone stopping to chat. What was impressive was how many people of varying ages, even in their twenties and thirties would go out of their way to have a conversation with this iconic woman. Anne was looked up to by so many in her community.
Anne enjoyed perfect health until after her 90th birthday and continued to live in the family home that she loved. Unfortunately, she was diagnosed with a serious health issue which required her to have various medical adventures this past year. This did not stop her from working in her flower garden, canning peaches, and planning for the future. She tested positive for Covid and passed two and a half weeks later.
Anne's favourite charities were The Daily Bread and Operation Smile.
A private family service was held at the Nelson Cemetery on September 1st. A Celebration of Life will be held in the future.