Mavis Smales

November 1, 1925 - January 12, 2025

Mavis passed away on January 12, 2025, 99 years and 73 days after she was born in Sheffield England. She was a wonderful wife to Tom Smales for 71 years; an amazing mother to John and Liz (Lilly); a precious Nannan to Lani and Izzy Smales, David, Michael and Matthew Lilly; and, Great Nannan to Arthur and Alice Lilly, and Olin Horsley-Smales.

Mavis trained to be a teacher during the 2nd world war, and taught elementary and middle school students. One of her first teaching jobs was in North London, but she returned to Yorkshire to marry Tom, whom she had met at the camp site in Rivelin Valley just outside of Sheffield, where their families had trailers (which were really converted buses). 14 year-old Tom was in awe of this sophisticated 16 year-old, though they did not start dating till several years later.

Most of her teaching career was spent in the West Midlands where Tom was working in the coal mining industry. She retired in 1981 and Tom decided to take early retirement too. Instead of settling down to a quiet life, Tom was offered a job at a coal mine in Grande Cache, Alberta and they decided to have a Canadian adventure for a "couple of years”. That job did not last long, and Mavis and Tom moved to Sydney, Nova Scotia, where Tom worked as a mines inspector until he finally retired in 1992. They moved to Victoria in 1993 to be close to Liz and family.

Her Canadian “adventure” lasted 44 years.

In fact, she had many adventures, she loved to travel and experience different cultures and foods, although she did prefer “meat and two veg” when it came down to it. She liked being outdoors and was fascinated by the different flora and fauna. She enjoyed birdwatching and loved animals. She was also artistic and painted in oils and pastels; she even did a pencil class drawing nudes, much to the consternation of her grandkids. She could knit and sew, she loved to cook and host parties. She delighted in classical music, especially opera; and, she and Tom enjoyed both ballroom and folk dancing. She was devoted to her family and had many friends, and it was being surrounded by love that kept her going - that, and gin and tonic!

A celebration of Mavis’ life will be held at Broadview United Church, 3703 St Aidans St, Victoria at 1:00 PM (Pacific), February 7, 2025. Please email [email protected] for a link to attend by Zoom.