Cecile Yvonne Van Nes

Originally the family lived in the Mt. Pleasant area of Vancouver, then briefly in Gifford Station, in the Fraser Valley. They relocated to North Vancouver in the early 1940s, first living at Glen Echo on Argyle Road in Lynn Valley, and subsequently in the Capilano Highlands.

Cecile attended St. Edmund’s Catholic elementary school, and graduated from North Van High. She then trained at St. Paul’s Hospital School of Nursing where she made life-long friends. She completed her nurse’s training in 1956.

In the same year, Cecile was married in Holy Trinity Church to Ralph Van Nes. They had met while they both worked at Standard Oil in Vancouver. They made their home in the Capilano Highlands where they raised their family and continued to live until this year.

Once her children were in school, she began work as a bookkeeper for A.M. Stevens Contracting, and after taking a number of business courses, for Wanzel Sigmund & Company. There she also made friends of long standing.

Cecile was a member of Holy Trinity Parish since it was founded in 1948. She served for a time as a president of its Catholic Women’s League, recently receiving special recognition for her contribution to both CWL and the parish.

Cecile made many memorable trips abroad over her life, seeing much of Canada, the United States, and a long list of countries in Europe: Switzerland, The Netherlands, The United Kingdom, France, Greece, and Turkey to name a few. But the many years of family vacations to Shuswap Lake and a trip to Hawaii to celebrate 25 years of marriage were top of list for Cecile.

She was known as a superb cook and a gracious hostess. Her impressive garden was rightfully a source of pride, and the place she most loved to spend time hard at work in her later years. She took great interest in her ancestry, and was proud of being descended from some of Canada’s earliest French settlers, including Ozanne and Pierre Tremblay. As well, she made a number of trips to Jersey Island in pursuit of tracing maternal ancestors, and she contributed a significant amount of research to establishing the Laffoley lineage.

Cecile and Ralph took great pleasure in their grandchildren and great-grandchildren as their family grew over the years. Cecile is survived by her husband of almost 65 years, Ralph; her children, David (and Jana) Van Nes and Sandra (and Bob) Cottingham; grandchildren Brook (and Jen), Katie (and Steve), Tom (and Kristi), and Matthew (and Nicole); and 7 great-grandchildren Nathan, Alex, Jack, Owen, Mila, Connor, and Chloe.

She is also survived by her brother Maurice Tremblay, her sisters Marie Tremblay CSJ and Margaret-Anne (Larry) Reda; sisters-in-law Marcella Van Nes (Doug d.), Joan Van Nes (Bob d.) Joanne (Arnie) Okano, Donna (Rick) Leche, Nancy Chambers; brother-in-law Ken Zimmer (Evelyn d.); and many nieces and nephews.

She is predeceased by her sisters Irene Burgess and Audrey Grant, sisters-in-law Connie McCullough, Freda Ritchie, Diane French, Lucille Tremblay, Evelyn Zimmer; brothers-in-law Ralph Burgess, Doug Van Nes, Bob Van Nes, Bob McCullough, and Gerry Ritchie.

Cecile will be greatly missed.