Catherine Janet King

It is with great sadness that we announce that our wonderful and loving Mom, Catherine Janet King, passed away on February 2nd, 2026, at the age of 97, at Peace Arch Hospital in White Rock.

We had hoped that our Mom, with her Scottish determination, would be able to recover from a broken femur, from a fall, and return home to The Residence at Morgan Heights. Unfortunately, her body, after being bed ridden for several weeks in the Hospital, failed her. Up until a few days before she passed our Mom was mentally sharp and still had her radiant smile and sense of humor. Our Mom is survived by her five daughters Kathryn, Ann (Jim), Jean (David), Deborah (Geoff) Barbara-Leah (Joe) her nine grandchildren Chris, Jeff, Danny, Tom, Kelly, Matthew, Alexandra, Kyle, Ashleigh and her four great granddaughters Autumn, Jade, Brianna, and Grace. She is also survived by her nieces Heather, Penny and Mary, her nephew Danny and her great nieces and great nephews. She is predeceased by her parents Margaret and George Oliver, her sisters Janet and Beatrice, her brother Georgie who tragically passed at the young age of three, her sister, Joyce, and her brother, James (whom she never met), both siblings were born in Scotland, her niece Patricia, and her nephew Brian. Living to the age she did our Mom was also predeceased by her many friends back East including Lillian and Jack Stoker, Florence Gittens, Doreen and Bob Barber and many others. Our Mom was also predeceased by our father, Maurice J. King, whom she married in 1948 and, although they divorced in 1978, they remained friends until our Dad’s passing on December 2, 2019.

Our Mom was born in Toronto then moved to the Westmount area of Montreal when she was five, before moving to Greenfield Park in the late 50's, where she raised her family. Our Mom participated in the community including being a Girl Guide leader when several of us girls were growing up. Also in the 1960's she starred in a Park Players Production with the Greenfield Park Players. Those daughters in attendance, regardless of their age, all recall being impressed and in awe seeing our Mom on stage performing. 

Before beginning her family, our Mom had an early career in Noorduyn Aviation, helping with the war effort, and then left to join Sun Life, where she discovered an interest in accounting. Our Mom, at age 54, made the courageous decision to sell her long time family home in Greenfield Park and move with her youngest daughter to Vancouver and closer to two of her other daughters. Then, at the age of 60, our Mom decided she wanted to keep busy, now that her family was grown, and began to work part time at Bowrings, a home decor store, which she did until she was 70. She enjoyed setting up the store displays and especially enjoyed expertly balancing the cash at the end of the day, right to the last penny of course. We believe her favourite part of working at Bowrings was getting first dibs when the Christmas decor arrived, and so began her Santa and Snowbabies collection. Our Mom certainly loved Christmas and always created a magical setting for our family. Right up to our Mom's last Christmas her Christmas decor was on full display, including a full size Christmas Tree. She passed on to us that love for the Christmas traditions and family times which we all so lovingly remember. At 70 our Mom decided to purchase a home in Chelsea Garden to live closer to her youngest daughter Barb and to spend time with her newly born grandchildren Kyle and Ashleigh. It was a very happy time for our Mom. She lived there for 25 years enjoying the social life it had to offer and made many dear friends. At 95 our Mom moved into a lovely Apartment at The Residence at Morgan Heights. She enjoyed the people she met and especially being able to go to the Dining Room for Dinner, after all the years spent cooking meals.

Our Mom enjoyed crocheting and was a voracious reader. She enjoyed all types of books but particularly biographies and history books, especially on World Wars I and II, both our Mom's Grandfather and Father fought in those Wars. She shared her extensive knowledge of the subject with us and her many grandchildren. We also knew that if we had any historical questions regarding British Royalty that we just needed to ask Mom. One of our Mom’s many great qualities was the way she always warmly welcomed whomever we invited into our home, and especially to our country home, whether friends were coming for the day or a few weeks. Also, if any family member needed a place to stay her door was always open. Our Mom knew exactly what she liked and hence we grew up with mauve and purple in our home while the popular colours, at the time, were brown and harvest gold. Her claim to fame was when she was able to find lilac appliances for our house. Friends that visited found it astounding but for the family it was just our Mom following her passion as she also did with her choice of stylish clothing.

We often recall our Mom, over the years, all dressed up heading to an event in support of the community and also in a supporting role to our Dad, especially in his position as the Mayor of Greenfield Park for eleven years and the Director General/CEO of the Quebec Credit Union League.  

Our Mom's pivotal role in her life, one she did not take lightly, was being a wonderful Mom. She was there to patiently listen to our trials and tribulations, to offer support, and especially to share in our joy and happiness. Our Mom was not the loud, demonstrative type with big hugs or dramatic declarations of love rather she loved quietly, deeply and steadily. She expressed her love by showing up for us every single day, she was our protector. Her love made our home. Looking at our Mom’s gentle strength and how she lived her life you saw love everywhere. It was consistent, resilient and steady. Each of us five daughters have our own treasured memories of our Mom and how she loved us, supported us, and was there for us in her own special way. We will carry those memories and our love for our Mom in our hearts forever.  

We are planning a private Celebration of Life for our Mom on April 11th, 2026.