Audrey Loretta Williams

December 15, 1932 - May 23, 2022

Our remarkable mother, wife, aunt, sister and friend Audrey passed away

peacefully surrounded by her children. Predeceased by her father Thomas

Downie and mother May Wright Downie, she is survived by brothers Kenneth

Downie (Mary) and John Downie (Barb); her husband of 63 years Bryan

Williams; and her children Lori (Holly), Jordan (Audra), Todd (Louise) and

Shannon (Anthony); cherished nieces and nephews and cousins.

Audrey was always happiest when surrounded by her beloved grandchildren Evan, Graham,

Jett, Noah, Gracie, Robyn, Elyse and Juliet.

Born and raised in Point Grey, Audrey graduated from Lord Byng High School.

She met her husband Bryan on board a ship returning from a Cooks Tour of

Europe with seven close friends. After her marriage in 1958, she and Bryan

moved to West Vancouver where their four children were raised in a home on

the beach. Always proudly independent, Audrey lived in the house purchased in

1964 until her death and never gave up her driver’s license. She was an active

member of the Junior League and volunteered with many organizations in West

Vancouver, the provincial and federal Liberal Parties, school activities, her

children’s sports teams, the Coho Festival and many others.

Audrey had a remarkable career as a figure skater. She started skating in 1938

at the Connaught Skating Club where she spent long hours practicing. It all paid

off when she and her skating partner Brian Power won the National junior pairs

competition in 1951 and came second in National senior pairs in 1952-53. She

made lifelong friends in the skating community.

Later, Audrey’s interest moved to judging. She started at fifteen becoming a

national judge in 1957 and an international judge in 1967. What followed were

many years of international judging and refereeing including numerous world

championships and two Olympic Games. Many of these competitions were in

Eastern Europe before the fall of the Berlin Wall and Audrey returned with

wonderful stories. The pinnacle of her judging career was judging the women’s

figure skating competition at the 1994 Olympic Winter Games in Lillehammer,

Norway. In recognition of her years of service and expertise, Audrey was

inducted into the BC Sports Hall of Fame and the SkateCanada BC/Yukon

Branch Hall of Fame.

As the wife of a prominent Vancouver lawyer, Audrey was an enthusiastic

supporter of Bryan’s roles in the Canadian Bar Association where she made a

whole new group of friends across BC, Canada and the Commonwealth. She

loved dressing up for the gala dinners and receptions.

She and Bryan were avid travelers reaching every continent. Their adventures

included African safaris, Himalayan treks, European sailing trips, blue footed

boobies in the Galapagos Islands and penguins in Antarctica. Summers were

spent cruising on their sailboat, sitting on the deck at their home on Salt Spring

Island and winters on the slopes of Whistler. It was truly a wonderful life.

Audrey leaves behind a wide circle of devoted friends who are left asking, “what

would Audrey do” when they need guidance. Her generosity, fun-loving nature,

boundless energy and selflessness will be greatly missed. She remembered

birthdays and celebrated achievements. Her passions were keeping fit by

walking with friend Bonnie, enjoying West Coast Indigenous art with friend Doug,

socializing with friends and family, watching any kind of professional sports

playoffs, walking Napili Beach on Maui and being with her family. She had a

generosity of spirit that was unparalleled. She welcomed everyone into her

home whether it was for a meal or to stay.

Many thanks to the staff on 7 West at Lions Gate Hospital and at North Shore

Hospice. You made a difficult time so much easier.

A celebration of Audrey’s life will be held at the Hollyburn Country Club, 950

Cross Creek Road, West Vancouver on June 29 from 2 to 5 pm. Please RSVP

to Lori Williams at [email protected] In lieu of flowers, donations can be

made to the Audrey Williams Memorial Fund at Skate Canada BC/YK Section by

visiting www.skatinginbc.com.