Lily Anna (Toews) Allert

Lily was born at Concordia Hospital in Winnipeg MB on September 26 1936, the fourth of six children born to Cornelius (C.D.) and Anna Toews, who were ethnic German Mennonites originally from Russia. She lived the first seven years of her life in Niverville MB, before moving with her family to Yarrow BC in 1943, and then later to Abbotsford BC in 1954. It was in 1953 that she met Helmut Allert, when they were both working in the hop yards, and they were married in 1957. They moved to Kamloops in 1958 and spent over 30 years living there, along with their two children Cynthia (1960) and Russ (1963). They also spent some time living in Westwold, Sorrento, Merritt and Abbotsford. While Helmut enjoyed a successful career as a teacher and principal, Lily divided her time between raising her kids and working in banking and retail.

Having been brought up in a musical family, Lily put her talents to good use singing in the Kamloops Alliance Church choir, as well as in local community choirs and theatre productions. In 1985, Lily and Helmut combined their interests in retail, administration and faith, and became the owner/operators of The Real Thing book store in downtown Kamloops. In 1992, they sold the store and moved to Chilliwack, where Lily devoted much of her time to helping look after her three grandchildren Jesse, Natalie and Eric. After Helmut’s death in 2002, Lily became interested in traveling to different parts of Europe, especially the UK, and she used the Internet to organize and book her trips there, down to the last detail. She especially enjoyed going on walking tours in the rural regions of the UK. She continued to sing in choirs at Cooke’s Presbyterian Church and St. Thomas Anglican Church.

Health problems and the Covid-19 pandemic began to restrict Lily to her house in Chilliwack, but she took pride in living independently and enjoyed spending her time maintaining her lawn and garden as best she could. She also took pride in paying off the mortgage of her house, thanks to Helmut’s generous pension and her knowledge of banking and finance. It was only when she turned 89 that her physical and mental health challenges finally made living in her house unfeasible, and she spent her remaining days in the care of the staff at Heritage Village Long-Term Care.

Lily was predeceased by her parents Cornelius and Anna, her husband Helmut, her sisters Clara and Cornelia, and her brother Neil. She is survived by her brothers Harry and Walter (Gaye) Toews, her children Cynthia (Kevin) Wildeman and Russ Allert, her grandchildren Jesse (Sarah) Wildeman, Natalie (Adam) Frado and Eric Wildeman, and her great-grandchildren Skye, Dayla and Enzo. She is also survived by numerous extended family, as well as friends in Kamloops and the Lower Mainland.

"History is fun!" - Roger McGuinn