With great sorrow we announce the passing of Bernice Perry (1917-2013) at Weatherby 1 care facility, Peace Arch Memorial Hospital January 23. She was predeceased by her parents, husband Paul, sister Jean (husband Ed), and brother Ted (wife Vicki). Bernice is survived by her sons Ray (Judy) and Don (May); three grandchildren, Jason (Karen) Perry, Ryan (Kirsten) Perry, Jennifer (Zak) Ashe; three great-grandchildren, Brendan, Nolan, and Zoey; sisters Joan (Homer) and Ady (Rolly predeceased); six nieces and two nephews, and many other family and friends. Born in Winnipeg, Bernice married Paul in 1936, and throughout the Depression, war years, and labor movement struggles, she made the best of life with her loving family and friends. Moving to Vancouver in 1947, Bernice embraced her new home and enjoyed many wonderful summers with family in the Okanagan and taking trips to the US and Europe.
Bernice’s work life, began at an early age, was varied and challenging, from gardening assistant, to shoemaking, to “driving streetcar” during the war years. Her ability to simultaneously drive a streetcar, collect fares, and maintain a coal burning stove in rush-hour traffic in the dead of a Prairie winter attests to her indomitable spirit and multitasking talents – long before today’s discovery of “multitasking”. Her home was always the family gathering place for holiday celebrations and her cooking the good fortune of all who were there. Bernie was an extraordinary cook, seamstress, and host who opened her heart and home to one and all and will be remembered as a loving, patient, generous, mother, relative and friend. She will be greatly missed and lovingly remembered. We wish to express our heartfelt thanks to Weatherby 1 nursing and support staff. A funeral service will be held at the Chapel of Ocean View Funeral Home, 4000 Imperial St., on Saturday, February 2, 2013 at 10:00 AM. Internment at Ocean View Burial Park. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to BC Alzheimer’s Society or your local society.
Euclid and Jarvis
That bird, singing in the tree,
Fluffing its feathers in an autumn wind;
Quickly hopping from branch to branch,.
Sang when you were young.
Is the song the same
As the one you heard
When your children played.
Along these rough streets.
Seeking a future?
You brought a culture
Rich in traditions
Of love, duty and honor
To this corner lot beside the Red.
To a land of hope and freedom,
To a land of unbound dreams.
The park is yet here,
The trees still standing;
The grass is unkempt.
Your people have gone –
Fleeing an identity:
Yet the memories remain.
Point Douglas, North End of Winnipeg, where Bernice and Paul Perry spent their youth growing up and early years of their marriage (RPerry, October, 1979).
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