Virginia Anne Christensen Nighswander

She grew up in Green Bay Wisconsin and graduated from East High School. She then attended the University of Wisconsin in Madison and graduated as an Occupational Therapist in 1958. While there she met and later married a Canadian, James Nighswander in 1957 and moved with him to Calgary, Alberta. She had three children, Mark, Douglas (deceased) and Sarah (Michael) Hawley. She was the beloved grandmother of Ryan and Mikayla Hawley.

While in Alberta she proved her outdoor abilities by following Jim later with young children, to remote encampments in the Rockies for months at a time while he was employed by Canada Science Service. There were numerous bear encounters! Following 2 years back in Wisconsin the family moved to a small farm near Warsaw, Ontario. During those years her cottage life was on a small lake in Haliburton, Ontario that was off grid and could only be reached by portaging. While on the farm Anne raised sheep and excelled in various crafts. One of these was wool spinning, a skill she learned during a year in New Zealand. She imported wheels and started a spinning group that volunteered at Lang Pioneer Village.

She liked to recall various incidents that occurred on a round the world trip with a stop in East Africa. Where she spent a night in Tree Tops where Queen Elizabeth ascended a Princess and descended a Queen. That night, Anne alone in the dark, slipping between the sheets, felt a warm form that she thought might be a snake that turned out to be a hot water bottle. An unexpected item ten miles off the equator!

In 1987 Anne moved to Peterborough where over the years was a very active volunteer at a number of venues including Peterborough Theatre Guild and Showplace and Civic Hospital. In recent years she resided at Princess Gardens Senior Residence.

Special thanks to the Management and staff at Princess for their care and compassion during her years there. Special mention to Nurse Deb for the friendship bond she had with Anne. Thank you to the Palliative Care team and the many Dr’s and nurses at PRHC for all the love and care you showed Anne.

The family will be having a private celebration of life at a later date. In lieu of flowers please send donations to the Canadian Diabetes Association or Peterborough Humane Society through the funeral home or online. Condolences can be made online at www.CommunityAlterantive.ca