Olive M Davey

Olive passed away peacefully after a brief illness at the age of 94. She is predeceased by her parents Adele and Hector, husband Victor Davey, twin sister Agnes (Hurter) and brother Robert. Olive’s family was her greatest joy. She will be greatly missed by her four children Marguerite Ellis, Peter (Helene), Warren (Debbie), Helen (Rick) Shrieves, 10 Grandchildren: Tracey, Mark, Jennifer, Jeffrey, Trent, Erin, Sarah, Laura, Tommy and Whitney; 10 great grandchildren: Jonathan, Matthew, Ashlie, Jordan, Ainslee, Cooper, Leah, Darian, Olive and Taylor; one great-great grandchild Hayden, as well as many nieces and nephews.

Mom and her twin sister Agnes were always very close, even though their paths through life often kept them apart. We always laughed at Mom’s stories of their dating experiences and how the young men weren’t able to tell them apart…until Dad came along of course. Mom enjoyed ballroom dancing as a young woman and often shared her experiences of dancing at the Normandy Ballroom in Montreal. During WWII, Mom was responsible for scheduling the flyboys, civilians who ferried military aircraft to Britain during the Canadian airlift.

Mom met Dad in 1946 and after a brief courtship they were married and bravely on their way to live in Melbourne, Australia where Dad was the Regional Director of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a branch of the United Nations. In those days it took 3-5 days to travel to Australia and communication with family was limited. After 8 years in Melbourne (and with 3 children) the family moved to Bangkok, Thailand for the next 8 years (and the fourth child). Finally, they returned to Montreal where they lived for 10 years before yet again returning to Bangkok and then Kuala Lumpur. When Dad retired, in 1981, they moved to Victoria, BC.

Mom was extremely adaptable to many different lifestyles – from cocktail parties, dining with the King and Queen of Thailand and running a household staff of 7 to living at their remote recreational property on Nelson Island, BC during the summer. There she cooked on a wood stove, did without electricity for many years and could be seen doing things like helping Dad move a log, stacking firewood, or digging for clams. She was famous for her delicious fresh clam chowder and oyster stews. Mom was also pretty good at salmon fishing and loved to recall when she caught bigger fish than everyone else.

Mom always enjoyed being creative. She tried her hand at painting, copper tooling, knitting, cross – stitching and needlepoint. She was also a good bridge player and enjoyed social bridge, or kitchen bridge, as she called it. But, it was the company of friends that was always more important than the actual game itself. She did the daily crossword in the newspaper – and was always proud that she did it in ink. When she moved to North Vancouver at the age of 85, Mom took up pottery. She often gave away her pieces as gifts – or if you went for a meal you were more than likely going to have it off of one of her lovely plates. She was already able to use her computer to keep in touch with her family and many friends around the world and to research anything she thought of. She also joined the Arts and Crafts group at Parkgate Community Centre.

Over the years Mom volunteered in a number of different areas. She read to the blind, assisted Japanese adults in Kuala Lumpur to learn conversational English and knitted caps for premature babies. In the 1950’s Mom also volunteered at the Jim Thompson Thai Silk factory in Bangkok as a hostess and guide.

Mom was always a very social person and took a great interest in what other people did. She loved to be a hostess. She and Dad often had parties with their friends and Dad’s business associates. Mom had a great sense of humour, and always looked for the positive side of life. Complaining was something she very rarely did. She was a wonderful woman and we will miss her very much. She will always be in our hearts.

Thank you to Dr. Craig Bergstrom, Dr. Bella Hughan and also to the staff at Churchill House and Lions Gate Hospital for their compassion and care of our mother. Thank you also to the caregivers from Proof of Care, especially Kayla, for their wonderful home care and friendship over the past two and a half years. A Celebration of Life will be held at Boal Chapel, 1505 Lillooet Rd., North Vancouver, at 10:00am on April 25, 2015. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to a charity of your choice.