Barbara Jane Burns

She leaves behind to grieve her her husband of 53 years Robert (Bob) Burns; children Matt (Colleen) of Calgary and Sadie (Dave Essig) of Nanaimo; her beloved granddaughters Claire and Eliza (she was their much-loved Nana); sister Aileen McMillan (Herb Metcalfe); nieces Christine Williams and Shauna Kazeil; nephews Barry Williams, Aaron (Amy) and Toby (Ann Sullivan) Kazeil. She was pre-deceased by her mother Anne Connon (2003), sister Christine (2021), and brother-in-law James (Jim) Kazeil (2007).

Barb was born in Renfrewshire Scotland Feb 21, 1950, the youngest of 3 sisters. Before the family came to Edmonton, Canada in 1957, they lived in a bucolic semi-rural setting in Inchinnan; years later, in 2016, she was able to show Bob the exact house in which she was born and lived.

In Edmonton, tragedy struck when Barb’s father, James Connon, died suddenly 16 months after they’d arrived; Anne made the difficult decision to stay in Edmonton with the girls, and became their sole support: She began a long career with then-Alberta Government Telephones, retiring in 1983. During those early years, and needing a responsible daughter to be the ‘latch key kid’, it was the youngest but most responsible Barbara whom she chose! Barb graduated from Scona Composite High School in Edmonton before becoming a Respiratory Technologist, a relatively new health technology at the time. It was in this role that she met a young medical student intern: Bob was smitten by how well she wore the hot pants uniform which were all the rage then! She followed him to Vancouver for his internship, and they married in April of 1973.

Married life began on a military base, as Bob repaid the medical school support from the Canadian Armed Forces with three years in Shilo, Manitoba. There her ‘take charge’ mentality saw her scraping, sanding, and painting in their base house - even though the military had people to do that. After the three years were up, the two fitted out a van, and went on a several months-long trip across the country, from mile zero on the Trans Canada Highway in Victoria all the way to Cornerbrook, Newfoundland; by then it was pushing early winter and the two turned round. They would complete the trip to St John’s many years later with their children.

Returning to Edmonton, the two moved in with Anne; Bob started his emergency work while Barb returned to school, gaining a certificate in Interior Design from the U of A. She completed her program while pregnant with their first born: Matthew was born June 13, 1979, the International Year of the Child (both parents felt quite proud of that.) Sadie followed, in November of 1981. With newborn Sadie and a toddler, Barb frequented neighbourhood playgrounds, where she struck up a lifelong friendship with neighbour Karen Rucker (then Mills); even though separated by years, distance, and life events, the two have remained very close.

Barb was a superb mother, actively engaged with her children’s education; she also gave back through leadership on the Community League, and her church council. She was a big believer in equality, championing the victims of discrimination; this cost her some relationships but to her it was the right thing to do.

In the early 2000’s, when brother-in-law Jim developed ALS, she and Bob moved to Nanaimo, Vancouver Island to be near Jim and sister Chris for his last couple of years. The sorrow of Jim’s death aside, Barb had found where she was meant to be, by the ocean, with daily views of the Salish Sea, walks along beaches or around her favourite Neck Point Park. She discovered her love of painting as the sisters found an outlet for their grief, many examples of which hang in their homes. The Interior Design training was immensely useful designing their home; barrier-free, it was designed for aging in-place, and has served well.

She also loved travel - as long as she wasn’t away from home and hearth for more than three weeks. Fortunately, Bob’s later medical executive career enabled the family to travel to many parts of the country, and some great memories were made. In retirement, Iceland, Scotland, and Tuscany have been highlights.

Friends recently wrote of her with their birthday wishes that she lit up a room with a mega-watt smile, is blessed with a kind and loving heart, a great sense of humour, with a natural flair for style, is a loving mother and grandmother “lucky them!”, a good friend, a supportive, loving, patient wife - which kind of covers it all.

She was that kind of woman and will be sorely missed.

Deep appreciation goes out to her health care team, especially Dr. S. Fawell, her family physician; Drs. L. Eigen, R. Wright, and M. Towers of the Palliative Care Unit at the Nanaimo Regional General Hospital; Dr. H. Anderson, her oncologist; and the superb, caring, and compassionate staff of the Palliative Care Unit, who made those last few days as gentle as possible.

In lieu of flowers, please support the Canadian Cancer Society or the charity of your choice, or one of Barb’s favourites, the Loaves and Fishes food bank and the SPCA.

There will not be a public memorial; an open house opportunity for family and close friends will be held on April 4th.