Mrs. Simone Marie Green

May 5, 1916 - January 9, 2013

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Simone Marie Green at the age of 96, comforted and surrounded in her final days by members of her family and friends at Evergreen House in North Vancouver. Simone was predeceased by her beloved husband Daniel Ross Green in 1998, her parents Armand and Alphonsine Savard and siblings Ronnie, Clare, Lucille, Gerry, Andy, Clem and Neil.

The eldest in a family of fourteen children, Simone was raised in the French Canadian community of Debden, Saskatchewan. Upon completing high school, she pursued her dream, moving to Prince Albert to study nursing at the Holy Family Hospital. There, she met Danny Green, the love of her life, who she married in 1941. Their February honeymoon was a joyful albeit frosty train trip to Saskatoon where they spent their first romantic night at the venerable Bessborough Hotel before continuing to the Royal Canadian Air Force base in Winnipeg. A year later, they were posted to Weyburn, Saskatchewan and then to the RCAF #5 Bombing and Gunnery School near Dafoe. Here they lived off-base in a lively enclave of converted granaries called Boomtown, established by enterprising farmers from the local community to house the growing number of enlisted men and their new wives. Mom often spoke of the fond memories and enduring friendships made during that time. Over the next several years they moved to postings in Trenton, Hagersville and Yorkton where Dan continued to serve in the military police and Simone practised her profession until the end of the war.

After giving birth to two sons, Daniel John (1944) and Gerald Ross (1949), Simone went back to work and discovered a talent for nursing education. She taught Nursing Arts at the Holy Family Hospital in Prince Albert and at the Grey Nun’s Hospital in Regina, where she also became the Nursing Registrar. She earned a reputation as a clear communicator and empathetic counselor who was loved and respected by students and faculty alike.

In their retirement years, Simone and Dan enjoyed being close to their family In Vancouver. They loved to travel, crossing Canada and the US several times in their motor-home, spending warm winters in Arizona. Simone was an active parishioner and volunteer with St Stephens Church in North Vancouver and was an avid bridge player and curler well into her later years.

Mom was the greatest wife, mother, grandmother, great grandmother, sister and friend anyone could wish for. She was a generous, kind and gracious lady. Mom will be remembered with abiding love by friends and family, especially by her two sons and their wives, Dan and Maureen, Gerry and Jo-Ann, her four grandchildren, Darin, Shannon (Asaf) Danielle (Jon) and Thea, her two great-grand daughters, Nova and Rio, her brother, Marcel, and sisters Fern, Marie, Murielle and Paulette, her dear friends, Madeleine, Dorothy and Jim, and Gladys, and her and Dan’s extended families.

We thank all the staff at Evergreen House for their kind and professional care over many years and particularly after Simone suffered several medical setbacks. Most of all we extend our affection and gratitude to her friend and caregiver, Marie, for her loyal and loving companionship.

A celebration of Mom’s life will be held for close friends and family in the spring. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Lions Gate Hospital Foundation. For those wishing to share a memory of Simone, please go to www.hollyburnfunerals.com

Hollyburn Funeral Home 604-922-1221