Dodd, Bernice Mary Ellen (Hunter), 96, of Halifax, still remarkably beautiful until the end, slipped quietly away on her birthday, devoted family by her side. Born April 27th, 1921, in Halifax, she was the only daughter of the late Joseph Garfield Hunter and Margaret Mary (Johnson). As a little girl, she loved helping her Daddy organize his mail routes as well as venturing out to visit her Mom’s relatives in Bear Cove, occasionally by horse-drawn wagon and over unpaved roads. As a young woman, she devoted herself to raising her large brood in Ontario, always trying her best to be a loving and devoted mother to each of her nine children. Her family grown, Mom worked in retail in Toronto and, on her return to Nova Scotia, gave generously of her time by volunteering with new immigrants with the Canadian Red Cross and then at the IWK Hospital as a play therapist. After retiring, Mom and Dad returned briefly to Braeside, Ontario where they renovated Dad’s old family homestead before settling back in Nova Scotia for good, breathing new life into a number of old houses in Mahone Bay and Dartmouth before completing the cycle and living out their final years in Halifax. Always sustained by her strong faith, Mom was known as a fiercely private, shy and independent woman, a ball of energy and a dreamer with a uniquely artistic temperament. An original and accomplished lover of all crafts, she delighted everyone with her designs of amazingly individual fabric dolls. She was also a voracious reader and wickedly good Scrabble-player — isn’t it amazing the words that would come to you, Mom? Deeply mourning her passing are her loving children Marilyn, Carol Perry, Catherine, John, Mary (David Hopewell), Pat (Marion Petite), and Chris; grandchildren Steve, Chris, Shawn, Janice, Lynn, Cheri, Kelly, Veronica, Greg and Caroline; many great grand-children. She was pre-deceased by her adoring husband, Gregory Alexander Dodd; precious daughter Ellen and infant son, David; lovely granddaughter Ellen; brothers Richard and Garfield; step-brother Ralph Gordon; and Sidney, her singularly-devoted Siamese cat, the last in a line of wonderful family pets. She is already missed terribly. Many thanks to the kind-hearted staff on Parkstone’s Seton Way and Evan Hall. A private family mass will be held in Halifax followed by internment in Notre Dame Cemetery, Ottawa, in May, Mom’s favourite month.
“Nobody knows I’m a storm ‒ I’m dawn on the mountain, twilight on the town."
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