Elisabeth Inez Gotto

We have said our last goodbyes to our dear Mum, Elisabeth, known also as Liz or Betty. She was born 99 years ago in the small village of Colombier on Lake Neuchatel, Switzerland, to Marie Perrenoud and Brooke Pitt-Chambers. She and her brother Robert spent their early childhood in India, before a return to N. Ireland when Betty was nine years old, following the death of their father, a mining engineer. She attended boarding school in England and finishing school in Switzerland. When war was declared the day before her 17th birthday, plans for art school had to change and she began nurses' training in Cornwall, which was followed by a stint in the Brompton Chest Hospital in London for the latter half of the war.

Elisabeth and Brian Gotto were married in 1947 and left family in N. Ireland to manage hotels in Sudan, Kenya and Singapore. The five years spent managing the Mawingo Hotel in the uplands of Kenya were a particularly happy and eventful time for them. In 1952 they played host to the young Princess Elizabeth who was on tour with her husband, Prince Phillip, until she had to cut her visit short because of the death of her father, Geoge VI. Movie stars Grace Kelly, Ava Gardner and Clark Gable were guests during the filming of Mogambo. With the Mau Mau rebellion escalating, Liz strapped on a pistol and holster to protect her children and the decision to leave Kenya was taken.

In 1956 Elisabeth made a long sea voyage on her own with her three small children while Brian explored working in Canada. She sailed from Singapore to Canada with a stop at her childhood home, Carrig Cnoc, in Donegal, Ireland. After several moves in Quebec and Ontario the family, which now included four children, finally settled in Rougemont, an hour's drive southeast of Montreal. With her children nearly grown up, Elisabeth found time to complete obstetrics training at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Montreal and to nurse at the Montreal Association for the Blind, where she made some lasting friendships.

In 1978, after retirement, Elisabeth and Brian moved to Hudson, Quebec, on the Ottawa River. Elisabeth was an avid gardener in summer and an enthusiastic cross-country skier in winter. Many happy days were spent at the Hudson Yacht Club, where they were social members.

Despite a happy life in Hudson, Elisabeth and Brian moved to Victoria in 1987 to be nearer to their children and grandchildren. While Brian golfed, Elisabeth created a garden that was an inspiration to many. Both she and Brian volunteered with the Lieutenant-Governor’s garden group. After Brian died in 2001, Elisabeth moved from their Rockland home to apartment living followed by nine years at The Wellesley. Her final months were spent in long-term care at The Summit, where she received excellent care, for which her family are grateful.

Elisabeth leaves her four children: Michael (Dianne), Deirdre (Allan Gallupe), Gillian McDougall (Duncan) and Mark, as well as nine grandchildren and ten great-grandchildren. She will be greatly missed by family and friends and remembered for her quiet perseverance, gentle wit, devotion to her family — and as a champion Scrabble player and solver of cryptic crosswords.

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