Esther Muriel Cain (nee Marquardt) of Burnaby, B.C. passed away peacefully with family at her side on December 8, 2019. Esther enjoyed a happy childhood on the family farm in Artland, Saskatchewan, where her parents, William (from Wisconsin) and Caroline (from Belgium) homesteaded. Esther attended Luther College in Regina, studying Business, before moving to Burnaby with her Family. This education and her hard work ethic led to a successful worklife in administration and bookkeeping. During this time Esther met and fell in love with her soulmate Ray. They combined their skills to create a successful business venture, “88 Cent Variety” in Burnaby Heights. Partners in every sense of the word, Ray and Esther explored the West Coast Mountains, constructed their cabin oasis on Timothy Lake, and enjoyed many cherished trips and adventures. Most importantly, they built a family.
Esther was a strong, intelligent, very perceptive woman, and... always a farm girl at heart. She enjoyed caring for an incredible garden and family reaped the benefits. She created the best unique jams and marmalades from the harvest. She also enjoyed feeding the local birds and watching for wildlife. A weekend report from the cabin always included the siting of a wolf or a duck or whatever creature could be enticed with peanuts. Esther valued and had a no-nonsense approach to healthy living, fresh air, exercise, and nutrition.
She was a voracious reader, fuelled by a life-long curiosity of diverse subjects which led to weekly trips to the Burnaby Library for over 60 years. She was very well-informed about history, wildlife, contemporary politics, nutrition, geography, and golf. This gave her an unfair advantage at Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy.
Esther lived in a time of momentous change; from driving a horse and sleigh to a one room schoolhouse as a child, to face-timing with her great grandchildren as a senior. She adapted to life's changes with her usual pragmatic resolve.
Esther enjoyed this past year meeting new friends at Mulberry, especially her dining and activity mates.
Loved ones gone before are: her cherished husband Raymond (2018), her brothers: Ed, Alfred (Winnie), Bill (Louise), and George (Lil) Marquardt, and her dear sister Dorothy Smibert, Brother-in-law, Vernon ( Eileen).
She will be missed by her sons: David (Rosemary), Steven (Deborah); daughter, Marie (Linda); her grandchildren: Alex (Kristin), Mack (Tamara), Jennifer (Gontran), Ashley (Shaun), Andrea (Bill) , Amy (Trefor), Jessie, and Meghan (Ben); two great-grandsons: Atlas and James, her brother-in-Law, Norm (Flo), her sister-in-law, Pat and many nieces and nephews.
Ray and Esther: together again, forever.
SHARE OBITUARY
v.1.8.18