Eileen Martin

May 30, 1926- April 29, 2023

On April 29 we said goodbye to our much loved mom, Eileen Martin (nee Moore). Our sadness is tempered by the knowledge that she enjoyed a long and happy life well-lived. Left to mourn is her daughter Dale Dearden (Ed, deceased), her son Len (Kelsey), her only grandchild Alexis, her two great-grandchildren Adora and Beau, and her sister Phyllis Hunter (Harold). She was predeceased by her husband Len, her parents John and Frances ("Nell"), six brothers, one sister, and her companion in later life, Wally Abrams.

Mom was born and raised in New Westminster, the eighth of nine children. Although the Great Depression was hard, she always looked back upon those years as extraordinarily happy ones. In 1944 she met our dad who was stationed in New Westminster awaiting demobilization. They married in May of 1945. They were to honeymoon in Winnipeg, our father's home, so that she could meet his family. Once reunited with his parents, brothers and friends whom he hadn't seen in four long years, dad did not want to leave. What was to be a short honeymoon in Winnipeg turned into twenty-two years, where she put down roots and they raised their children. Dad was eventually transferred to Calgary where they spent another seventeen happy years before retiring to the Okanagan. Mom joked that she was eventually making her way back to the west coast, albeit slowly.

In 2015 after dad's passing, Dale and Ed convinced her to relocate from Westbank to Chilliwack where they had moved to in their retirement. She didn't hesitate and had finally come full circle, spending the last eight years of her life there, back in her beloved "wet" coast.

We wish to thank Dr. Bakker and the staff of Chilliwack General Hospital and the caregivers and volunteers of Cascade Hospice for making the last few months of mom's life warm and comfortable. There will be no service by request and flowers are graciously declined. But should you wish to make a donation in mom's name to the Salvation Army, we know she would be pleased. She never forgot their kindness one Christmas long ago in delivering small gifts for all nne children and a turkey for the oven. Rest in peace mom, we will miss you.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.woodlawn-mtcheam.ca for the Martin family.