Norma Martha Mckay

Norma Martha McKay (nee Wyness) was born on October 15, 1923 in Vancouver British Columbia, at Vancouver General Hospital and died on April 26, 2022 in Penticton, B.C. Norma was the fourth of five children all of whom predeceased her as did her parents Arthur and Amy. Norma was also predeceased by her husband Alexander McKay in 2015. Of Norma’s family of Origin, Norma lived the longest, being 98 when she passed away.

Norma had a very happy family life and childhood despite growing up in the Depression and she spoke of those happy times often. She attended Templeton Junior high school and graduated from Grandview school of Commerce in 1941 both in the city of Vancouver.

On April 27, 1946, Norma married the love of her life Alexander McKay, at Christ’s Church Cathedral in Vancouver, British Columbia. Norma is survived by her three children James, Jane and Kathleen (Bruce) as well as her only grandchild Dawson (Leona), and five great grandchildren, Josiah, Jessy, William, Zooey, and David.

Norma grew up in Vancouver, she worked in Vancouver and her and husband Alex started to raise a family in the Marpole area of Vancouver. Norma and her husband and family moved from Vancouver to Surrey in 1958, then on to Westbank in the Okanagan, down to Hope and back up to Okanagan Falls in the Penticton area. With all the moving around I think I can safely say that Norma always felt that Vancouver was her home and she is one of those people that loved the rain, probably because she grew up with it.

Norma worked part time at a sewing store at Guildford in Surrey, as well as at Eatons. But Norma’s main job in her eyes was her family and she maintained a very good home for her family in all ways.

Norma had extraordinarily positive characteristics and some of them that stand out are how she saw the best in everybody, she never spoke poorly of anybody and she believed everyone had a right to their opinions. She was kind and forgiving. Above all she loved her family and they always came first.

She was a voracious reader and always had a book by her side even up to her death, she was taking a book to bed every night to read. She was prolific at crosswords, sewing, making quilts which we still have to this day, and Some of her biggest accomplishments were the Tiffany lamps decorating our homes, And we consider them very special heirlooms indeed.

Norma and Alex spent much of their retirement traveling five months out of the year to Mexico in their various RV’s. When they were home during the summer months nearly every morning they would walk from their home in Glenrose down to the lake and back again. This would be about a 5 mile walk; they did this into their 80s.

To celebrate this very very special mother and beloved grandmother’s life, a memorial will be held on Saturday June 25, 2022 at 1:00 PM at 153 Eeastside Rd , Okanagan Falls, B.C

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.firstmemorialfuneralkelowna.com for the Mckay family.