October 4, 1920 – September 9, 2018
……………………………………………………………….
Beryl Jean Clark (Woodill) passed away peacefully in her sleep on the evening of September 9, 2018. She was 97.
Beryl grew up in Vancouver with her parents, Seymour Melville Woodill (Halifax, Nova Scotia) and Harriet Ahrens (St. Paul, Minnesota), and attended Magee Secondary School.
She became a mother to Michael in 1938 when she was just 18 yrs old and Lee in 1940 when she was 19. Shortly afterwards, her husband left and she moved in with her mother – ”Gaga” to her boys – becoming a single mother when they were just toddlers. She raised two boys with her mom through the 1940's and 50's, all the while supporting herself by running her own custom couture fashion business, Town & Country: no small feat for a woman in those years. She never re-married, but she went on to buy an entire apartment building (again no easy feat for a single woman in 1966).
She was tough, full of life, cheeky, and went out of her way to help others. She never stopped working – managing her apartment, overseeing several of her son’s stores, then volunteering at St. Vincent’s until these last few years when she finally had to slow down.
She is survived by her two boys, Michael and Lee and “mom” to their wives, Patricia and Linda. She was an amazing “Granny” and “Gramma C” to Matthew, Ryan, Christine and Eden and their spouses, Denise, Bethany, Ben and John. And a “Great Granny” to Myah, Elias, Graham, Annika, Zoë, Aquiline, Xavier, Sorya and Auburn. She was predeceased by her siblings Seymour, Jack, Bill and Bea and their spouses May, Thelma and Al, and her nephew Alan.
She will always be fondly remembered as “Granny C” and “Mrs. C” to all that knew her.
A private family Celebration of Beryl’s Life will be held at a future date.
SHARE OBITUARY
v.1.8.18