Ellen Rae

Ellen passed away peacefully and unexpectedly at Oyster Harbour Seniors Community in Ladysmith BC on Friday, August 1st, 2025, at the age of 91. Although plagued with health and mobility issues in her later years, she never allowed it to hold her back from what she wanted to do, indeed the day before she passed she was at the coffee shop in Saltair followed by enjoying a cider on a sunny afternoon in my garden.

Ellen had a long and varied life. Born in 1934 in Motherwell, Scotland, she had two siblings - her older sister Peggy born in 1930 and her younger brother Willie who was a war baby, born in October 1939. Ellen's early memories are of standing with her mum and sister, her brother a baby in his mother’s arms as they stood in the 'close' - a makeshift air raid shelter supported by steel beams to hold up the roof as the German bombers flew overhead, heading for the shipyards and industries of Glasgow. One plane, a Heinkel, was shot down and crash-landed in her primary school playground - "we all went down in the morning to have a look at it".

The family then moved to the country during the war to Carstairs Junction. Ellen's dad worked on the railways, driving munitions trains during the war and so having the family close to the railway simplified life for them during those trying years.

After the war, Ellen was encouraged to stay on at school by her teachers, but she had an eye for fashion. Her mother told her if she wanted fancy clothes she would need to work for them so Ellen made the decision to leave school, spending time at the school of engineering before beginning work at various factories including the wool factory making sweaters and then the shirt factory - where she could put through "27 dozen shirts a day on my machine" - they earned money by the shirt, not by the hour in those days.

Ellen's mum wanted to return to Dundee to be nearer her own family, so the family moved north together in 1957. By this time Ellen had met her future husband Willie who had just completed RAF service in Malaysia and Singapore and in due course he too moved to the Dundee area, living initially with Peggy and her husband. They were married on December 20th, 1958, in Dundee with an exotic honeymoon to Aberdeen thereafter.

Ellen began work for John Menzies and Co at their bookstall in Dundee West Station, eventually as manager, where she stayed until closure of the station in 1965. It was one of her favourite jobs and she loved to talk about the characters who would visit the stall for papers, magazines and cigarettes on their way to their train.

Thereafter Ellen and the family suffered the loss of her sister Peggy to cancer in 1966. This affected the family greatly and it was a loss which stayed with Ellen throughout her life, even after almost sixty years.

After Bill was born in 1967, the family moved to the golfing mecca of Carnoustie and Ellen spent many years working in the hospitality industry in both hotels and golf clubs. During that time, she struck up many long-term friendships, particularly with her dear friends Maisie and Jack - they worked together for a total of 16 years and stayed lifelong friends until their passing early in the 2000s.

In 1987, Ellen was up for a challenge and spied a confectioner/tobacconist shop for sale in Cupar, Fife. She was looking for something completely different and this was to be it, despite the fact it meant two trains to catch in each direction, the 6.30am from Carnoustie frequently being missed and WIllie having to drive her the 18km into Dundee to catch the next one. 'Heggies' was a great success. It had been a candy store previously with an established clientele and Ellen took to it like a duck to water. She had a couple of ladies work lunchtimes with her to fend off the high school kids and became known throughout the town for her 'Giant' and 'Jumbo' farm fresh eggs which even made the local paper. She would ride her bike to the bank at the end of the day and would make a regular appearance at the church on Sunday. If the minister saw her in the pews he would be in for a supply of chocolates for his flock - if she didn't make it to the church, he didn't always make it to the shop.

Heggies continued until late 1991 when an opportunity to get back into hotel work opened up with the purchase of the Creag-nan-Darach Hotel in Plockton in the northwest highlands. This was to be a family business with Willie and Bill involved too. Ellen ran the kitchen and handled the ordering, greeting the guests and making sure her staff was 'well turned out' - there would be no slacking off when Ellen was on patrol, but the hotel did well, increased its Tourist Board ranking substantially and became a firm favourite with many guests who would return each year.

In 1997 Canada beckoned and the family made the big move across the ocean to Vancouver Island. While initially coming to return to the hospitality business, fate would see a change of direction as Ellen and Willie decided to retire in Greater Victoria. Unfortunately, at the end of 1998 Willie suffered a heart attack and after successfully fighting back from that, pancreatic cancer was to be his final battle with him passing away in 2002, just shy of their fifth anniversary in Canada, at the age of 66.

Ellen took up some new pastimes - five pin bowling with her friends, piano lessons and driving lessons. It was the talk of the town when Ellen passed her driving test with 'Young Drivers' and received her 'N' at the age of 70. She would continue driving for a further 17 years.

Ellen also threw herself into volunteering at Saanich Peninsula Hospital and remained there for ten years, volunteering three to four afternoons a week. This enthusiasm subsequently followed her to Chemainus where she volunteered at Chemainus Health Care Centre for a further three years until a stroke early in 2016 forced her to step aside owing to limitations in her left side mobility.

Ellen continued to keep herself busy with a nice circle of friends and of course her beloved Shih-Tzu Bichon dog 'Buddy' who was her faithful companion for over 17 years. She also made friends with the many lovely carers who would visit her daily as her needs changed over time to help with some of the day-to-day tasks. Her relationship continued with them until she moved into Oyster Harbour in June 2024.

Despite the loss of her brother Willie and some health setbacks this past year - a bad fall, two bouts of pneumonia and a heart scare, Ellen continued to bounce back - with determination and a twinkle in her eye. In the last couple of weeks, she was looking great, full of vitality and interest in what was going on in the world around her. It was a blessing for her and a fitting way to make her exit, living life to the last day as well as she could.

She will be missed by all who have enjoyed her company and shared in her life story these past several years. May she be happily reunited in eternal peace with all those who had earlier helped her write it.

At Ellen's direction, there will be no formal service.

In lieu of flowers, you may wish to make a donation in memory of Ellen to one of the organizations below, both of which were important to her. You are under no obligation to do so.

Chemainus Health Care Auxiliary

chemainushealthcareauxiliary.com

Operation Smile Canada

www.operationsmile.ca