Estelle Primrose McLachlan

It is with great sadness, that we announce the passing of Estelle at the age of 91 after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease. She passed away peacefully with her family by her side.

Predeceased by two husbands, she is survived by a brother, Terence; her daughters, Cara and Diana; and stepchildren, Ronda, David and Leah. Her friends and family were cherished especially her grandchildren who called her "Nana".

Estelle was born in London, England where she married her first husband, Hartas Foxton. They had two daughters and had an adventurous life travelling to many countries. They moved to Australia for four years, two of those were spent touring the coast of Australia in a trailer.

Following a job offer that Hartas accepted, the family moved to Canada settling in New Westminster, B.C. Estelle worked at Lucky Lager Brewing Company (Labatt's) as an accountant and wrote a column for the Labatt's newsletter and joined several Writers' Groups in the lower mainland.

After Hartas died suddenly in 1965, she continued to work and several years later met and married Ronald David McLachlan. With his three children they moved to northern B.C. where Ron taught school.

Later moving to Hope, B.C., Estelle was an active and vital part of her community. She volunteered for many organizations, contributed to the definitive history book on Hope, Flood and Laidlaw (Forging a New Hope), taught piano lessons, debated on the local radio station and wrote many poems and short stories that were published. Estelle won many regional and provincial contests for her poems. She specialized in Haiku's and if not writing could be found reading one of her many books.

Estelle especially loved all her dogs and cats that she raised over the years with Ron. She was also proud of her Jewish heritage. She was a kind, warm, vibrant woman, who lived an interesting and well-travelled life. She will be greatly missed by her family, friends and relatives all over the world and all will miss her grace, quick wit and spirit. She tried very hard in this life to make it a better place for all.

A special thank you to the wonderful and loving nurses, caregivers and staff at the Kiwanis Care Centre, North Vancouver, B.C. Their support and kindness was greatly appreciated by the family.

Arrangements under the direction of First Memorial Funeral Services, Vancouver, BC.