Wendy Metcalf Roy

Predeceased by her brother Paul, she will be greatly missed by Dalton, her husband of 56 years; her sons, Aidan and Giles; her daughters-in-law, Claire and Leila; and her grandchildren, Asha and Caelan.

Wendy was a devoted mother, an eternally curious person, a relentless optimist, and the sweetest soul. She was an avid birder and a voracious reader, as well as a secret writer. Each Easter, she would take on the role of the Easter Bunny and prepare a nursery-rhyming egg hunt for her kids (and later her grandkids). For every birthday, she would write a silly, personalized poem in a card. Each Boxing Day, she would prepare a turkey dinner for 20 or more loved ones. She was known for her kindness, her generosity, her sense of humour (which was often far too self-deprecating), and her adventurous spirit. All of these qualities stayed with her until her final moments.

Born to Frederick George Metcalf and Gabrielle Joan Hawkins on a Royal Air Force base in South Africa on February 7, 1944, Wendy was later brought home to England, where she grew up all over the country: Essex, Surrey, East Anglia, Oxfordshire, Nottingham, Morpeth, and London. After graduating from the University of Bristol, she made the trip to Canada in 1967 with her best friend Mary. She worked for the Montreal Star before returning home for a year, during which she worked on a "bookmobile," travelling the Northumberland countryside. This is thought of as her first foray into the world of libraries. When she returned to Canada the next year, she worked at SFU's library before earning a degree in librarianship at UBC.

In 1970, Wendy became the first dedicated Children's Librarian at North Vancouver District Public Library. She was known there for her lively story time sessions, which often incorporated felt puppets and character voices, as well as for shepherding countless kids into the Summer Reading Club. On one infamous occasion, she had the brilliant idea to bring live frogs into the library as part of a whimsical reading club initiative, which led to her being affectionately known forevermore as a "frog lady." Her home became decorated with hundreds of frogs in all forms, each gifted to her by friends over the course of the next 50 years.

After retirement in 2007, she settled into a new faunal passion: birds. With a camera and binoculars around her neck, she would regularly trek all over the Lower Mainland, following tips from a local online community of birders and contributing her own sightings whenever she could. She pursued a wide variety of interests in retirement: painting, pottery, golf, Spanish classes, Eldercollege at Capilano University, tracking the regional salmon runs, and helping the local Go Go Grandmothers with their Bridge to Africa charity tournaments. But birding was the most natural and lasting fit. It was a good excuse for her to explore British Columbia with Dalton, and she also seized every opportunity to travel the world, though she never stayed away from her family for long.

In her last years with us, health issues gradually took away her ability to travel or even to drive herself to her favourite birding spot, Maplewood Flats, and eventually her ability to go birding at all (though she continued to hold court with the regular feathered visitors outside the window by her favourite chair). The obstacles grew, and she slipped away peacefully at Lions Gate Hospital, surrounded by her adoring family, who held her hands and reminded her how loved she was. She faced every challenge with a bravery the rest of us could only hope to possess, and leaves behind endless lessons in gratitude, humility, and hope.

A celebration of life will be held for Wendy at First Memorial's Boal Chapel (1505 Lillooet Road, North Vancouver) on November 17 at 2 pm. All who knew her are invited to come together and remember a woman whose beautiful spirit touched so many lives.

In lieu of flowers, the family would appreciate donations to the BC Cancer Foundation, Parkinson Society BC, Heart & Stroke Foundation, Plan International Canada, or a charity of your choosing in her name.