Ilze Anita Abell-Kalnins

Our beloved mother and grandmother, Ilze Anita Abell (née Argalis), died June 30th at age 85, in Vancouver, B.C.

Ilze was a vivacious, creative, loving and adventurous person who lived life to the fullest. She survived wartime dangers following her early childhood in Latvia, eventually coming to Canada as a teenager with her parents. She married her first husband, Harvey Abell, in 1960 and had three children, then later wed the sweetheart of her youth in 2000. She designed costumes and jewelry and painted charming, old country-inspired Christmas cards that were popular at craft fairs. She loved to dance and taught herself to play the accordion. She kept true to her cultural roots and took great pleasure in singing traditional folk songs with friends in the Latvian community. Ilze was predeceased by her husband Vidvuds Kalnins only one month earlier. She will be greatly missed by her children, Colin Fox, Tia Abell (Kevin Lindstrom) and Neil Abell, her former daughter-in-law Heidi Kutschera, Shannon Fischer, her stepson, Karlis Kalnins, three grandchildren, Tia Kutschera Lerat (Mickaël Lerat), Cyris Abell and Finn Lindstrom, and many friends and relatives in Canada and abroad.

A celebration of Ilze’s vibrant life will be held Saturday, July 22 at 1 pm, at Forest Lawn Funeral Home.

If you’d like to make a donation in Ilze’s name, the BCSPCA meant a lot to her.