Pauline Nodwell

She was born in 1919 on a homestead in Saskatchewan, the sixth of 16 children born to Paul and Paraskevia “Pauline” Borisenko. She married Jack Nodwell in 1941, and moved to Calgary where they raised their son, Howard, and three daughters, Beverly, Clarese, and Marlene.

Pauline worked as a foreign student advisor at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology. She was an avid curler, golfer, and a master gardener. Jack and Pauline built three houses in Calgary, and a log cabin on the shore of Sylvan Lake. Pauline took her children and grandchildren for walks in the woods, teaching them the names of plants and birds. In the evenings Jack would launch their boat to give Pauline a better view of the sunset. The cabin remains a sacred space for the family.

Pauline and Jack retired to Qualicum beach in 1980, where they joined several siblings in the Parksville area. Jack died in 2003, after 62 years of marriage. Pauline kept his wedding ring on a chain around her neck for the rest of her life, living in the home they shared and working in the garden until the end. She is survived by brothers Ed and Dave Borisenko, her sisters Clarese Sailer and Betty Schmidt, and by all her four children, nine grandchildren, and 13 great-grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her brothers Peter, John, and William, and her sisters Kathleen, Mary, Anne, Lillian, Nancy, Dorothy, Christine, and Nell.

Friends and family will gather to celebrate Pauline’s life at St. Stephen's United Church, 150 Village Way, Qualicum Beach B.C., on Friday Nov. 8, at 2:00 p.m. There will be another gathering later in Alberta, with details to be arranged.

Pauline’s own suggestion in lieu of flowers was that her friends and family make a donation to the charity of their choice.