Doris Sylvia Fanner

Doris Sylvia Fanner (née Joseph) was born in 1926 to Dr. Paul Joseph and Jane Syed Shah in Peshawar, Pakistan. The youngest daughter in a family of six children, she lived a challenging but fortunate childhood during the final decades of the British Raj. Doris thrived in boarding school and fondly recalled her summer vacations with her family in Murree in the Himalayan foothills. She valued her Armenian and Pashtun roots. She witnessed the Independence of India, mourned the loss of her British friends and mentors, and deeply grieved the violence of Partition in 1947.

Ever the adventurer, Doris traveled to England in 1954 to study nursing at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge and then midwifery in Edinburgh, Scotland. Her studies completed, she returned to Peshawar to work at the Afghan Mission Hospital with her father. In 1961, she returned to Liverpool, England to marry Desmond Fanner, a British doctor whom she had first met in 1946 while he was a member of the RAF in Peshawar.

Canada beckoned in 1967, so Doris and Desmond moved to Saskatchewan with their two children. A wintery 7-day voyage at sea culminated in a multi-day train ride from Montreal to Regina. Doris was horrified by the sight of the trains covered in enormous icicles, but she eventually learned to both accept winter and understand Canadian culture. Saskatoon became her final home.

Mom will be lovingly remembered for her gracious and generous nature, her honesty, unintentional humour, and her fierce determination and fortitude. She had resolute faith in God’s goodness and timing.

Doris was predeceased by her husband, Desmond, in 2008. She is deeply loved and missed by her daughter Janine Classen (Brian) and children Sarah, Leah and Hannah; her son Nicholas (Bernadette) and their children Simon and Camille Bradley (Marquis) and great grandchildren Grace, Macklin, and Zion.

The family would like to express their sincere gratitude to the staff of JCL Care Homes for the exceptional care given to their mother. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to JCL Care Foundation (391 Delaronde Rd). The Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Wednesday, August 30th at 10:30 am at Holy Spirit Parish (114 Kingsmere Pl, Saskatoon). Following the mass, the Rite of Committal will take place at Woodlawn Cemetery. Arrangements in care of Mourning Glory Funeral Services.