Ayleen Blanche Clay

Mom was born in Prince George on October 3, 1928. She lost her father when she was five and at seven was taken in by a loving couple, Robert and Phyllis Fisher. Mr. Fisher was manager for CIBC and was stationed in Vancouver, Chilliwack and Lillooet. It was while they were in Lillooet that she would meet her husband, Charles Clay.

Charles was newly working for the Department of Fisheries stationed near Lillooet. Although he was camped several miles out of town, he would come into town to get supplies and pick up mail. Mom was a phone operator in town, and any stranger new to Lillooet was always the talk of the town. Mom was soon swept up by this muscular young man and they were married in 1948, in Lillooet.

Dad still had more field work to do, so their honeymoon was a tent in a field, then a log cabin in the dead of winter, somewhere in the Cariboo. Mom, ever the city girl, had packed all her high heels and nice dresses, soon finding out how brutal the winters could be.

Dad eventually ended his fieldwork, and they were back in Vancouver where he built a house for his young growing family in Burnaby. In 1962, Dad took a post-graduate degree in Hydraulic Engineering at Delft, Holland, deciding to take his entire family with him. This was a fortuitous decision and gave the impetus for all of us to enthusiastically embrace the next adventure: moving to Rome, Italy in 1965.

Our enjoyment of traveling made sure we saw plenty of Italy and Europe. As the kids went to school, Mom learned Italian cooking and language, with plenty of hand gestures! As the kids got older, Mom decided to teach English, where she met her best friend Suzie, an American gal much younger than herself, but such a bon-vivant; Mom got whisked away in fun adventures around Rome. A cottage in Umbria was purchased and it soon became their happy place, Dad retiring from FAO and moving permanently to Umbertide. Italy came to a close and Mom and Dad retired to Arizona, then on to Vernon, Birch Bay and eventually White Rock nearer to their grandkids, Enda, Alex, Kent, Ellis and Arden.

Nana loved each of them and made sure their visits and sleepovers were special. When Dad passed away in 2008, Mom moved to Vancou-ver, where she welcomed to her world her great granddaughters, Simona and Nicola.

Mom’s last years were spent at the South Granville Park Lodge where she was incredibly well cared for and loved. Gilbert, Jaime and Allyson wish to profusely thank the staff and administration outstanding work. “We love you!”