Victoria Annabelle Briggs (nee Tabisz)

It is with fragile and tender hearts that we share the passing of dear Mother, Victoria Annabelle Briggs, just 2 months shy of her 100th Birthday.

Her strong faith, love for family and adventurous spirit have always been a bright light for her children Rita (Doug), Ernie, Barb (Len), Brenda (predeceased 2003) (Jimmy), Gordon (Gloria), Timothy (Brenda) and Sherry (Glen) who will be forever grateful to call her our mom. Her loving presence in the lives of her grandchildren, Wade, Robert, Teresa, Amber, Brittanie, Samantha, Dylan, Sadie, Shannon, Mark, and Sophia will forever reflect the love, devotion and caring that she gifted to them. They know there was never a Christmas or Birthday that was forgotten. She touched the lives of her great grandchildren, Cassidy, Chelsea, Ryan, Jenny, Emma, Sawyer, Grayson, Bowie, Dia, Stokley, with her love, affection, pride, and encouragement.

Born in Fox Valley near Regina, Saskatchewan, she was one of seven siblings (Dolly, Mary, Esther, Rose, Sandy, and Mike, all predeceased. She was tough prairie stock and raised her family of seven children with her husband Ernie Briggs (predeceased 1995) while working night shifts at St. Mary’s Hospital. She and our dad moved across Canada from Nova Scotia to Vancouver in a station wagon with six kids and everything they owned. That was surely an act of courage, adventure, and hope. She used a wringer washer and survived without a dishwasher or clothes dryer until well into the eighties and never ever complained. As a child on the prairies, mom was accidentally run over by a farm truck. Without medical care or hospitals available she was bedridden and told she would never walk again. Testament to her determination and strong will, she went on to live a productive life in her humble, graceful, and sometimes stubborn way. She would and did always get her money back for anything bought that was faulty! It was wise to agree with her and replace the item before you experienced the full wrath of Mrs. Briggs!

After her retirement from the hospital, she went on many Travel adventures to Mexico, The Panama Canal, Alaskan Cruises, Reno Nevada, and Los Vegas where she found her love of casinos! A favorite pastime in her senior years but she somehow always managed to come home with her money! With many memorable visits and celebrations with her family in Surrey, Sayward, Nelson, and Bowser. Mom loved to visit her kids and grandkids and would not hesitate to bring along our aunts and Uncles. In our younger years we all slept outside in a tent while our mom & dad, aunts & uncles slept inside in the beds. Once six of them shared a single room and hence the hilarious toupee story was born when mistaken for a dead rat on the dresser. Life seemed so much simpler then and we laughed, played cards, and roasted hot dogs on the fire. We will always treasure and miss those days.

Our Mom sure knew how to bring the magic of Christmas to life! It was a small stampede of excited children Christmas morning. She understood the true meaning of Christmas and family throughout the years. Her many talents included line dancing and performing at the Cloverdale Rodeo and knitting beautiful wool sweaters and ponchos for her family. She was a great cook and could make a little go along way, baked treats for all occasions and an all-around Jill of all trades.

Our mother is a testament to 99 years strong and leaves a legacy that spans a century. She was the rock and glue in our family and always found the good in tough times. She was fiercely independent, lived with dignity in her own place, made her own decisions, until her final year of life. It is a bittersweet sadness that we say we love you mom and will miss you dearly until we meet again.

The Briggs Family