Victoria Joan McLaren

She was predeceased by her mother, Eunice Noreen Standish, nee Flumerfelt and father, George Thomas Standish. Vicki is survived by her cherished son, Evan and husband Scott, sisters Diane (Gifford) and Georgia (Standish), her step-children, Vince (McLaren) and Veronica (Norman) and her many extended relations: nieces, Deborah and Noelle Grace, nephew, Chris, and step-grandchildren.

Before she passed away, Vicki wrote notes for her own obituary. Many of the words here are hers. The sentences with quotation marks are her words exactly.

“Vicki was born in Montreal, Quebec. The family loaded up the car and drove across Canada back to Vancouver when Vicki was 5 years old.” As a child she attended General Gordon Elementary School and Kitsilano High School. In these bright years, she had many friends. She excelled in academics and athletics. She was also musical, achieving high levels in classical piano and playing the clarinet in the school band. Cheerleading and Senior Editor of the school yearbook were among her proud achievements.

Vicki worked for 20 years as a well-trained Court Reporter. She once commented that becoming a Court Reporter was “the best decision I ever made.” She retired in the late 1990s. “Her only child, Evan Thomas, was born in 1983 to Jack St. Mars and herself.”

Vicki poured her energetic intellect and passions into watercolour painting, Bridge, reading, and puzzles and games of almost any kind. Scott and she began each morning with a crossword. At family dinners, she could always be counted on to round us up for games. That was when the party really started! May-I and Pictionary were part of her legacy. Surely the neighbours could hear the house rock with laughter.

Vicki loved her private, orderly sense of home. You could always find her in her “little space,” contented, sitting by the fire, engaging in her pastimes. Move a paper or book from its allotted location and—well, those blue eyes could flash. Of her “passions through life,” Vicki wrote that the most important was “the love of her life, her husband Scott, whom she married in 2003.” Together they travelled, often seeking the warm sun and poolside in Mexico.

Vicki says, “Hopefully she will be remembered as a loyal friend, for her humour and compassion for others and her endless love for her son, Evan.” Indeed, Vicki, we will.

A force with which to be reckoned, she’s missed and held dearly in our hearts.

~RIP Vicki~

No formal service by request, but contact Scott if you wish to attend a small family gathering. Text: 604-340-1948.

Donations to the North Shore Hospice, please.

319 East 14th Street, North Vancouver, BC V7M 1P6

604-904-6178

lghfoundation.com

click on “Donate in Tribute”

click on “Designation”