FLORENCE STARKELL

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FLORENCE STARKELL On October 6, 2015 in the early part of the afternoon, surrounded by her family's love, Mom left us to start on her journey to find and be with our father. In 1923, in Dauphin, Manitoba, on what could have only been a hot, sunny July 8, our mother was born to Isabella and William Crowe. Without fail every July when the wild roses started to bloom in her yard, she would reminisce about her childhood birthday celebration that always included a bouquet of wild roses for the dinner table and strawberry shortcake. Our Mother was a prairie girl, living most of her young life on farms in Saskatchewan and Manitoba. She loved telling stories of her farming past. These stories would have the listener creating mental images of a lone 10 year old girl herding cattle on horseback, manually churning butter, plowing fields behind a team of horses and watching as the skies of the 1930s darkened with the ever present thick dust. With the onset of the Second World War, the high schools cleared out and Mom followed the many young people leaving school to help with the war effort. Her contribution was overhauling engines for the air force, an assignment she took great pride in. Life in Winnipeg during this time was grand. She rented a tiny apartment on Hargrave Street and set up such an inviting environment that every time one of her siblings would arrive from Teulon they would settle in with her. The greatest feature of this apartment was its close proximity to the old Osborne Stadium. She spent many hours there enjoying one of her greatest passions, watching sports. It was also the place where she first spied the man who would eventually become her life partner of 51 years, our father Ray. Our father was truly her partner in life. They were two people who formed a united force to create the best life they could for their family that included six kids, various pets and any of our childhood friends who needed a place to stay while they sorted out their lives. Family was definitely our parents' first priority. Their love for each other was deep and pure, based on trust and the knowledge that they would always, "until death do us part", be there for each other. Mom loved the idea of seeing the world. There was a point in her life when she figured the best way to achieve her goal of world travel was to become a hobo jumping on and off trains or a foreign journalist. Neither of these aspirations came to reality, but she did get to travel far and wide on what she described as being financed on a "pauper's wage". There wasn't a sport our Mother didn't enjoy watching. Either on TV or live, she spent many hours cheering on her favourite teams. It was quite fitting that in the last few months of her life she had the good fortune of attending a Miami Mariners baseball game, numerous Goldeyes games, a FIFA women's world cup soccer game, a Minnesota Vikings game and a preseason Winnipeg Jets game. For the last 25 years of Mom's life, the first sign of cold weather had her thoughts turn to the sun and surf of the Texas and Florida coasts. Until Dad's passing in 2004, they spent at least three months every winter enjoying everything the small Texas town of Port Aransas had to offer. Walks on the beach with her dog Sparky, domino games with the other snowbirds and the seafood were highlights. Without Dad as her travelling companion, Mom started spending winters with her daughter Colleen and her family in southern Florida. Her days there were filled with art classes, playing in the sunshine with her grandchildren and, until the age of 89, twice weekly Zumba classes. To her children Cathie, Cindy (Bob), Conrad (Kim), Chris (Gerry), Curtis (Gail) and Colleen (Gary), and her grandchildren, Jillian, Daniel, Kirstin, Clayton, Ryan, Troy, Eric, Luke, Damon, Sloan, Sage, Tate, Anthony, Faith and Ava, and her beautiful great-grandchildren, know that she believed very strongly that in some way she will always be there with you. Take time to listen and watch and you will feel blanketed in her love. A celebration of Florence's life will be held on Tuesday, October 13, 2015 at 2:00 p.m. at the Glen Eden Funeral Home, 4477 Main Street. In lieu of flowers, a donation can be made to the Front and Centre Campaign at the University of Manitoba. Family and friends may sign a Book of Condolence at www.glenedenmemorial.ca Glen Eden Funeral Home & Cemetery 204-338-7111

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Oct 10, 2015