Patricia Mary Hausberg

Patricia Mary Hausberg (Kirby) was born in Agassiz, B.C. on July 31, 1935. Her parents Joseph and Dorothy Kirby operated a small dairy farm in Harrison Mills. Patricia had two brothers; Ben and Edward. She began school in a small, two room school house at Harrison Mills and transferred to a larger school in Agassiz in her grade five year, which meant a three hour school bus ride each day.

In 1948, the Fraser River flooded and the family farm was submerged under ten feet of water. The Kirby family and their animals sought refuge on a hill across the Harrison River. Patricia remembers her Dad rowing a boat over to the house where the water reached up to the bedroom windows on the second floor. She also remembers how kind the Canadian Red Cross were to her family during this devastating disaster.

In 1949, the family sold the farm and moved to Mission. Patricia graduated from Mission High School in 1952 and then spent a year at business college in Chilliwack. In 1953, she moved to Vancouver where she worked as a secretary at the Rainer lumber company for the next ten years.

In 1957, Patricia met John Hausberg. The couple dated for two years and married in 1959. They moved from Vancouver in 1961 into a house they had built in Richmond. Patricia and John had two children; John Scott, who was born in 1962 and Susan Christina, who was born in 1964.

John became a member of the Vancouver Police Force in 1963 and Patricia not only supported the family in adapting to his shift work, she was also the glue that held the family together when John suffered three major injuries on the job.

During the 15 years the family spent in Richmond, Patricia was very involved in the community. Among other pursuits, she was a member of the Richmond Jaycettes and prepared a babysitting course which she taught to students in the Richmond School District. In 1966, Patricia’s mother Dorothy passed away suddenly; this was a devastating blow for Patricia who was only thirty-one years old at the time. Patricia kept the memory of her mother alive in sharing memories throughout the years and creating the same close relationship with her own daughter, Susan. Patricia’s father, Joseph, passed away in 1975.

In 1976, the family moved to Calgary and settled in the northwest neighborhood of Dalhousie. John began working for Cox Retail Audits and Patricia was hired as the company’s office manager. Eventually, John and a partner started a new security company, Invicta Security. The company won the bid for the security of the Athlete’s Village during the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics. Patricia, John and their daughter Susan, who worked for the company as a supervisor, remembered this as an exhilarating but also exhausting time.

Patricia and John moved to Horizon Village in southwest Calgary in 1988. Patricia stood strong beside her husband John during ongoing health concerns which caused him to take an early retirement in 1994. Patricia retired in 1996 and continued to keep busy with volunteer work, family and friends.

Since 1993, both Patricia and John have been very active members with the Centre Street Church. Patricia said it was very hard for her to give up her volunteer work in the church due to her recent illness. She was also a lifetime member of the Calgary Rock & Lapidary Club, a line dancer, a red hatter and spent time knitting comfort dolls for soldiers to take overseas and baby layettes for the Calgary Women’s Shelter.

Along with regular trips to visit family and friends in B.C., the couple loved to travel and visited a great portion of Canada; including a trip to Ottawa to see their son Scott and his family. They travelled to Hawaii for their 25th wedding anniversary, took a bus tour of Europe and more recently a cruise through the Panama Canal to celebrate their 50 years together.

Patricia had a wonderful and close relationship with her four grandsons, Adam, Garrett, Quinn and Brett. Quinn has fond memories of his trips with his grandparents and cuddling with his grandma. Adam recently said, “Grandma is so kind, they must have taken all the mean bones out of her body.” She also was a loving mother-in-law to her daughter-in law, Susan and her son-in-law, Kevin. She instinctively knew when to give support to all of us and when to take a step back. She was a very proper lady who also had a wicked sense of humor that could make us laugh until we cried.

Our parents, John and Patricia had a fifty-five year marriage and their commitment and love for one another was obvious to all. It stood not only the test of time but also the difficult times they had to endure together.

Dr. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, a pioneer on the subject of dying and death wrote:

The most beautiful people we have known

are those who have known defeat,

known suffering, known struggle, known loss,

and have found their way out of the depths.

These persons have an appreciation,

a sensitivity and an understanding of life

that fills them with compassion,

gentleness, and a deep loving concern.

Beautiful people do not just happen.

Our mother, Patricia was a beautiful person, we were lucky to have shared our life with her and we are at peace knowing that she is now resting comfortably in her own mother’s arms.

A Celebration of Pat's Life will be held at Centre Street Church, 3900 – 2 St NE in Calgary on Friday, January 16, 2015 at 1:00 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made directly to the Canadian Cancer Society, 1-800-661-2262 or www.cancer.ca.