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Edna LaPrairie

October 15, 2015

Edna passed away peacefully on October 15, 2015 at the age of 85 in Saanichton, BC. Edna was born on February 07, 1930 in Morden, Manitoba. She will be lovingly remembered by the love of her life Rene “LaP” of 60 years, 3 AMAZING daughters Irene, Brenda and Andrea; 3 son in laws Allan, Andrew and Jeff and 6 grandchildren Jordan, Cassandra, Mikaela, Gabrielle, Maddison and Deaglan, as well as 3 brothers Jack, Cornie and Albert, all from Manitoba.

Edna’s early years were spent on the family farm in Southern Manitoba where she developed her work ethic and strong family ties. She acknowledged and respected her Mennonite background and was able to speak low German and cook traditional Mennonite meals. When Edna was 17 years old she decided to leave the farm, the family and Morden and started the next chapter of her life.

In Chilliwack she met Rene and after beating him in a badminton game it turned out to be a match made in heaven. They married on September 17, 1955 and never looked back!

Edna and Rene loved to travel and spent many grand adventures travelling the world. They spent their early years stationed in Werl, Germany where Rene served with the Canadian peace keeping forces. With a second hand Mercedes they travelled Europe! Over the years Mom’s love of travel continued with trips to Hong Kong, Australia, Yukon, cruises and home to the family farm in Morden. Upon arrival back to Canada they started their family in the midst of transfers to Vancouver BC, Bagotville QB, Halifax NS, Comox BC, Goosebay, NF and back to the West Coast to settle in Sidney BC in 1972.

Words best to describe Edna are: artistic, creative, shy, loyal, stubborn, faithful, outspoken, driven and family focused.

Throughout her life many hours were spent oil painting, crafting, needlepoint and her favourite pastime of all was ceramics and china painting. Family and friends over the years have been showered with Edna’s beautiful ceramics. She would prefer to give homemade gifts over store bought. She was also very generous with her time and spent countless hours volunteering in her Church, community as well as babysitting grandchildren. Edna and Rene volunteered with the PCA, Beacon and Shoal centre for over 40 years and received many service awards including the “Hearts of the Community.” She was also a Girl Guide leader, Sunday school teacher and a member of the Saanich Pioneers Society. She was actively involved in St. Paul’s United Church.

Edna was ahead of her time with recycling and going green and passed this on to her girls. From hanging the laundry to water restrictions this was a story in itself…

Over the years, 3 children later and umpteen moves and transfers, something that always bothered Edna was that she had never received a high school diploma. As an inspiration to her family at age 52 Edna went back to high school at Parkland Secondary school and graduated with honours in 1982. This was one of her proudest moments when she marched onto the stage in cap and gown with all the teenagers.

Edna loved living in Sidney and especially at “Maryland.” She adapted to her new home at Saanich Peninsula Hospital following her stroke in 2013 and was surrounded by friends and wonderful caregivers. Ice cream sundaes in the garden and time with Rene and family gave many hours of joy and comfort.

Edna had a full life with her girls, son in laws, grandchildren, 3 brothers, pets, gardening, walking and going for coffee with LaP.

The family would like to express their sincere thanks to the many caregivers at SPH, ECU1 and Aberdeen.

There will be a viewing at First Memorial Funeral Service 4725 Falaise Drive,on Wednesday October 21, 2015 from 2:00pm to 4:00pm. A Celebration of Life will be held at St. Paul’s United Church 2410 Malaview Ave, Sidney, BC, on Friday, Oct. 23 at 1 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Edna’s name to Saanich Peninsula Hospital Foundation.