Eunice Lulu Stringer

We are heartbroken to announce that Eunice Lulu Stringer, 75, of Halifax, Nova Scotia, passed away peacefully in her home on August 26, 2021 after a three year battle with cancer. Her children, Elizabeth and John, were by her side.

Eunice Stringer was born on October 25th, 1944 to Cheun-Wing Chen and Wang-Ping (Esther) Chen in Chung King, China. Eunice, along with her mother Esther Conaboy, grandmother, sisters Ann and Andrea, and other family members fled communist China in the late 1950s and settled in Hong Kong.

Eunice completed secondary school at St. Paul’s Co-Educational College in 1962 followed by a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Hong Kong in 1967. Eunice left Hong Kong with her best friend Leta and spent a year in London, England where she completed a secretarial course and enjoyed the exciting London scene, taking in countless plays and concerts. She left London for Montreal in 1968 and received a diploma in teaching from McGill University. She then moved to London, Ontario where she completed a Master of Library Science at the University of Western Ontario in 1972.

Eunice moved to Fredericton, New Brunswick to take a job at the Harriet Irving Library at UNB and then the New Brunswick Public Library Service where she finished her career. In Fredericton, she met her husband Peter, a geology professor with whom she shared a passion for classical music and literature. They were married in 1973 and went on to have two children, Elizabeth and John.

Eunice and Peter lived in Silverwood, a suburb of Fredericton for most of their married lives. During her years in Fredericton, particularly after retirement, Eunice led an active lifestyle. Eunice had a green thumb, and every year transformed the back garden into a colourful oasis. She resumed piano lessons picking up from where she left off as a child. She enjoyed meeting with her many friends at the YMCA. This included old friends from Silverwood and new friends she met during her career. She cherished her friends and was a caring and unwavering friend to so many.

Between the years 2003 and 2007, Eunice’s son John and his wife Beata lived in Fredericton while they completed their undergraduate degrees and went on to study education. During this time, they are thankful for their support and have many fond memories enjoying each other’s company during Sunday dinners at Eunice and Peter’s home and desserts at John and Beata’s small apartment. Following this, they left to teach abroad and had Kayah (2011) and Arianna (2013). In 2015, Eunice and Peter moved to Halifax, Nova Scotia just a few doors down from their daughter Elizabeth and grandson Adrian (2011). Elizabeth will dearly miss her mother’s daily presence and friendship.

Over the past decade, Eunice’s greatest pride and joy were her beloved grandchildren – Kayah, Adrian, and Ari. Kayah and Ari’s fondest memories with grandma were helping her garden, making cloud cookies (meringues), and playing scrabble during a trip to Nova Scotia’s Northshore. They also enjoyed trips to Crystal Crescent Beach and going to the playground and picking raspberries at Flinn Park. Adrian’s fondest memories include Grandma showing him how to plant and grow beans in the backyard, using her driveway to shoot pucks and and showing her how to play in nerf gun battles and air hockey.

Eunice was predeceased by her husband Peter and is survived by her loving mother and sisters. There are so many individuals the family would like to thank for their support over the past few years, but particularly their loving friends, Leta and Sean Malone and Jocelyn and Peter Thompson, who Eunice and Peter considered family. Thank you to Josna Shaji and Swaroop Paul for taking such wonderful care of Eunice in her final year and days. Thank you to Dr. Wojtek Morzycki, the NS Cancer Centre and Dr. Gina Burgess for their compassionate care.

Memorial donations can be made to the Terry Fox Foundation in celebration of Eunice’s life. https://terryfox.org