Agnes Emily (Holloway) Harrower

December 27, 1917 --- November 5, 2017

Agnes died peacefully at Greenwoods Eldercare in Ganges on Salt Spring Island after a short battle with pneumonia, following a long and hard battle with dementia, which she endured with bravery and grace.

Agnes was the devoted wife of George James Harrower who predeceased her in 2015. She was also pre-deceased by her dear sister-in-law Rosemary (Harrower) Wood Wertheim with whom she had a special bond. She leaves behind her beloved children Rozanne (Peter Hynard), Peter (Barbara), Michael, Penny, Nancy (Brian Stasiuk), and Stephen (Amanda), as well as her dear goddaughter Jane (Cranford) Kurys. Agnes was the loving grandmother of fifteen grandchildren (Caitlin and Matthew Hynard, Eli and Sarah Harrower, Nick, Isaac and Fern Maccabee, Marigold, Geordie, and Tashi Harrower, Zal and Nova Walsh, Sarah Daroux, Jamie and Emma Harrower) as well as six great-grandchildren, one great-great-grandchild, and eight nieces and nephews.

Our mother was the last surviving member of her generation.

Agnes was the daughter of Arthur James and Margaret (Sproat) Holloway. She was born at home in Hamilton, Ontario, the third of four children. She and her siblings Henry, Margaret (“Betty”), and Arthur were all noted scholars at Memorial Public School and Delta Collegiate. Agnes earned a degree at McMaster University (Class of ’40) at a time when that was rare among women, and she went on to become a registered nurse at Hamilton General Hospital.

Mom loved to share stories of her childhood years with us. She told us of summer holidays with her family in Sundridge and of the adventures involved in making the trip there from Hamilton. That was in the 1920s and ‘30s, in a world that no longer exists today.

Our mother was a woman of great natural beauty. She caught our father’s eye in a botany lab at McMaster and soon after graduating from nursing school (where she won the Prize for Efficiency in Bedside Nursing), she married the man of her dreams and travelled to Dundurn Air Force base near Saskatoon to begin married life.

In the first seventeen years of their marriage, our parents lived in thirteen different communities (some as far afield as Mandeville, Jamaica and Karachi, Pakistan). When our father left Canada to work with the United Nations International Labour Organization in 1952, our mother oversaw the sale and packing up of their house in Richmond Hill, and flew to Pakistan with her four small children to join him. On three separate occasions she bravely transported the family on her own to destinations halfway around the world and safely back again. En route, she exposed us to many world-famous sights (e.g.. the crown jewels, Pompeii, the Suez Canal) and inspired in us a love of travel, while making certain that we came to no harm (e.g., by climbing over a ship’s railing on the high seas).

Agnes spent much of her life caring for and nurturing others. On her first trip to Pakistan she nursed us back to health when one child became sick with hepatitis and another with malaria. On her next trip she taught Grade 4 at the Karachi American School and volunteered her time with various charities. A desire to help others was one of her many strengths.

Agnes met people with an openness and sincere interest, and cherished the many friendships she made in the many places she lived. This affection was loyally returned and she stayed connected to her friends for many decades after.

Agnes and George raised their family in Ottawa, Jamaica, Belize and finally Trinidad. When George retired they settled in Blyth, Ontario but in 1987 they moved to Salt Spring Island, B.C. This period of their life was busy with travel as well, with trips to Japan, Egypt, India, China, and New Zealand, sometimes two or three times. Our Mom loved to visit with her children and grandchildren as they spread out across the country and around the world. She treasured her many grandchildren and loved to spend time with them, sharing her interests and learning about theirs.

As well as travelling to distant lands, Agnes loved to explore the island of Salt Spring. She often took long walks with George where they could be seen holding hands and enjoying the views together. Throughout their almost seventy-two years of marriage she was devoted to our father’s well-being.

Our mother lived a long and productive life and she has left many lasting happy memories for us:

• the pleasure she got from the bouquets of lupins she picked in Kashmir,

• her satisfaction in simple, wholesome food. A favourite lunch was a freshly picked sun-ripened tomato from her garden chopped up with celery into a bowl of cottage cheese. She was practical and frugal during their lean years in Richmond Hill when, to make ends meet, she sold tomatoes door-to-door and ever after justified any non-essential purchase as having been covered by her “tomato money”,

• her piano rendition of “Beautiful Dreamer” as she played us to sleep,

• her excitement at joining her newly licensed pilot son for a flight in a small plane, or a ride on his motorcycle,

• her glee in a ruthless game of Monopoly with her son-in-law and grandchildren,

• her enjoyment at being at the wheel of her car and in later years doing all the family driving. Mom drove the RV camper (the 20’ “bus”) from one side of North America to the other and around Central America on roads that were often primitive and dangerous. It was a personal sorrow when she had to give up her licence at the age of ninety-one.

We were the most fortunate of children to have had such a mother and she will be remembered with great affection. At our parents’ request, their ashes will be scattered together on the Ganges River in India, at a private family ceremony.

We thank the staff at Greenwoods Eldercare for the respect, dignity and loving care shown toward her over the past few years.

Donations to the Canadian Dementia Action Network (http://www.cdan.ca/getinvolved.html) would be welcomed.

Condolences may be left at www.firstmemorialfuneral.com