Anna Gandossi

Anna Gandossi was the youngest child of Joachim (Akim) Cochkanoff & Barbara (Vava) (Dournovo), refugees of the Russian Revolution who escaped to Canada in 1923. She was born December 23, 1938 in Cranbrook, BC and sadly passed away peacefully at 11:54am, January 23, 2025 at Lions Gate Hospital in North Vancouver, with her Son (Nicholas), Daughter-in-law (Nicola), and two grandchildren (Jacob & Braelyn) by her side. Anna was 86 years old.

At the time of her birth, Anna’s father was 54 years old, and her mother was 38. Her siblings were ages 8,10,12 and 13. (Sisters: Irene Nettles, Helen Fanslow, Alexandra (Sasha) Jackson; and Brother, Orest Cochkanoff). Anna was the last surviving member of her family and was pre-deceased by her ex-husband, Graham (GUIDO) Gandossi, and her subsequent partner, John (MILTON) Braithwaite.

Anna had a creative, confident and colorful personality being the youngest of 4 siblings with an 8-year age gap to her youngest sister. She was full of opinions, relished being unique, had a real zest for life and an adventuresome love of travel. In her lifetime, she lived on 3 continents, 4 different countries and 5 different cities, moving a total of 29 times.

At the age of 4, Anna moved from Cranbrook, BC to North Vancouver with her family. When they moved to North Vancouver, her parents joined the local Russian Greek Orthodox Church in Vancouver, building a large group of Russian friends and refugees, who shared her family’s background. Anna had a deeply immersive experience growing up in a rich Russian cultural environment. The combination of Russian music, folk songs, the language, and the strong community bond at the church and social gatherings created a powerful connection to her heritage. She was raised loving Caviar, pickled herring, borscht with sour cream, Russian Blinis, zakouski, sausages, sauerkraut, paska, kuleach, and speciality Russian appetizers that were served during special occasions like Easter. In Russian, her friends would call her Anya Akimovna, and her family called her Anya, or occasionally, Annichka.

At around the age of 22, Anna bought a SOLO, one-way ticket on a freighter sailing to India. After sailing for eight days across the Pacific Ocean the ship reached Yokohama where she had three days to explore her first taste of the Orient. Following this stop, the ship sailed to Saigon, however, as they were entering the harbor, the captain got a message to turn around and leave as the war was getting serious and it was just too dangerous so they continued on to Hong Kong. After Hong Kong, they sailed to Bangkok, followed by Madras, India then north to Chittagong, Bangladesh. From Bangladesh, she disembarked the ship and flew to Calcutta then on to Delhi where she met her future husband, Graham (Guido), who proposed to her after she had returned back to London.

Anna was a passionate decorator and always lent a hand to anyone who was interested in her keen sense of style & love of bright colours. Her decorating skills included painting walls, stripping & refinishing furniture, wallpapering, re-upholstering dining room chairs, covering daybeds, and re-covering many pillows with bright and cheerful fabric that she hand-chose from various fabric stores. She was also self-taught in quilting, needlepointing and painting. She hand-stitched over 77 quilts and many needlepoint pillows in her lifetime. She painted her first painting at age 61, never having any lessons, and she painted boldly, with lots of color!

Anna loved teaching and preferred to teach grades 5/6 when their minds were wide open and the students were eager to learn. Another career she held was at British Overseas Airways Corporation where she was awarded a gold plaque by cabin services training unit where she topped her class while training to be a stewardess. Due to her impeccable high-level of service, she was assigned to the first-class cabins on all her flights. She also had paid modelling gigs in Japan & London, and back in British Columbia she was very successful as a real estate agent (Sussex Realty in North Van). Following her stint in real estate, she became a well-loved property manager for a North Vancouver Apartment complex.

Anna was someone truly special. Someone whose energy and individuality made a lasting impact and someone who wasn’t afraid to stand out or step out of her comfort zone and speak her mind. She pursued her own path, no matter how unconventional.

Anna’s genuine hope was that her grandchildren will remember her as a person who embraced life to the fullest, and was open to new things, new people, and new adventures! Someone who thought it was totally fine to make mistakes and have a good laugh at yourself, never taking yourself too seriously.

May her legacy & unique personality traits live on in her two grandchildren. She will always be in all our hearts forever.

No Funeral service by her request