July 3, 1910 - December 1, 2018
Ann was born in Gladbeck, Germany on July 3rd, 1910 and passed away peacefully on December 1st, 2018 at the age of 108 years. Ann emigrated as a child from Germany in 1912 at the age of 2. She moved with family at the age of 7 from Alberta to Fauquier, B.C. on the Arrow Lakes, and from there in later years to Princeton, B.C. where she owned and published a weekly newspaper named "The Valley Spotlight." She relocated to Vernon, B.C. after getting a job offer from the Vernon Advertiser (now the Morning Star) in 1950. She was then asked to join the staff at CJIB Radio Station where she worked until she retired in 1960 at the age of 50 and settled in Coldstream, B.C. She truly loved the Okanagan Valley and thought it was the wonder of the world. She was very active in the business community, serving as President for one term of the Women's Business Association, and was a staunch supporter of women's equality/rights. Ann was an amazing, free thinking and extremely intelligent individual, a woman ahead of her time who was greatly loved and respected by those that knew her. During her working years, she took every opportunity to escape to the sanctuary of her cabin on the Shuswap where she would unwind from her busy week, relax, go fishing, enjoy the tranquility of the country and entertain around the bonfire at night. She acted as tour guide, chauffeur and cook to her close friends on many road trips, fishing and sight-seeing.
Not a fan of cold weather, she preferred to spend the winter months in Palm Springs or with friends on Vancouver Island. She had a wicked sense of humour, loved to laugh and make others laugh, often stopping passersby at the mall to tell them a joke before going on her way. She absolutely loved life, politics, fishing, dancing, travelling and chocolate, in equal measure! Other than a period in her 40's when she suffered from TB and was confined to complete bed rest for six months, she managed to live her entire life without a single operation and was proud of her self-sufficiency. It was not until Ann reached the tender young age of 96 that her niece came to care for her and remained by her side until her passing.
During her life Ann was filled with wonder at the tremendous strides in technology over the last 30 years. She, at the age of 108 outlived her immediate family and her many dearest friends. Her final Christmas gift was to be reunited with the love she had lost in WWII and all the treasured friends and family who had passed before her.
She will be greatly missed and fondly remembered by all those who loved her. In respecting Ann's wishes, she was cremated, and no funeral service will be held.
As an expression of sympathy, those who wish to do so may send donations in memory of Ann to the SPCA as she was a life time lover of cats, many of which she rescued from the wild and provided with a loving home.
Cremation arrangements have been made with Bethel Funeral Chapel Ltd.,5605 27th Street, Vernon, B.C. V1T 8Z5, (250) 542-1187.