Ilze, beloved mother and grandmother, cherished sister, dear friend, indomitable spirit, and lover of nature, books, and music, was born in Riga, Latvia, and immigrated to Canada in 1948.

Always original, Ilze has requested that the following words from a poem called “Under the Apple Tree” by Rutger Kopland be included here instead of a traditional obituary:

“then slowly it once again became

too beautiful to be true, the day’s

alarms disappeared in the scent

of hay, toys again lay

in the grass, and from far away in the house

came the laughter of children in the bath

to where I sat, to

under the apple tree

⚘

and later I heard the wings

of wild geese in the sky

heard how still and empty

it was becoming”

Ilze’s great generosity, thoughtfulness, humour, and warmth will be deeply missed. Predeceased by her dear husband, Donald, she is survived by her five children: Susan (Winston), Peter (Ilona), Ian (Ilze), Miriam (Andrew), and Tali (Theresa), and her eight grandchildren: Liam, Markus, Eli, Ernests, Sophie, Beatrise, Edvards, and Albert. She also leaves her sister, Valda (Christopher), and her sister-in-law, Joan, as well as extended family and friends.

The family wishes to extend a special thank you to Ieva, whose friendship and love lifted all our spirits. We would also like to thank all those who cared for Ilze in the past year, especially Rosalyn, who was with Ilze from the beginning and who has become a friend of the family. We are grateful for everyone’s support in an especially difficult time.

A ceremony in memory of Ilze’s remarkable life will be held on Friday, February 26th, at 2 p.m., at Cruikshank’s Halifax Funeral Home. At a later date, there will a family gathering to honour Ilze. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to support The Friends of the Public Gardens, a society that helps to maintain an oasis of green in the heart of Halifax.