Annie Laurie Wright

Annie Laurie Wright (née White) cherished every day of her 90 years and was kind and gentle to every person and pet who crossed her path. She had a strong faith and a burning curiosity to learn. There were always bible studies happening at our house and she was proud of learning weather-observing techniques to work at the weather station in Stewart, or learning medical terminology to help her husband, Bill, with his work as a coroner.

She was fond of the symmetry of her birthdate, the 8th day of the 8th month of the year 1932, each part of which is divisible by 4. She was fond of her name and the song she was named after. When dementia had robbed her of many of her memories, she liked to say she could “sing her name” and talk about her birthdate. She never lost her memory of the love of her life, her husband of 62 years. She missed him terribly the last 11 years, but sometimes, mercifully, she forgot that he was gone. She would say that he was leading a gang of men rebuilding a washed-out bridge “up north on the Red River”.

She loved children and loved giving them gifts. In Stewart, Duncan, Sechelt and Rivers, all the children in their church received a special gift at Christmas time. She was no longer able to do this after moving to Victoria in 2014, but she loved watching the kids at church during their learning time with Rev. Heidi. Many of the “kids” from our Stewart days still refer to our mom and dad as Aunt Anne & Uncle Bill.

She was a born storyteller and performer, with music being her lifelong passion. She played piano and sang beautifully. The last few years, her stories changed as she re-worked them over and over in her imagination, becoming quite fantastic, but there was always some combination of truth, wishes and night-dreams in them. There were stories of wild adventures where they travelled and helped people, met famous people, had thrilling escapes from danger (with her husband being the hero, of course, who helped her shinny up a rope to a hovering helicopter and avoid bandits on the ground below).

Born in Albemarle, Ontario, she was raised mostly on a farm near Rivers, Manitoba. As was normal for the time, the family was poor but the farming community helped each other out and was especially kind to the families, like hers, whose fathers were away for years in the armed forces. Many of Annie’s stories were about her wonderful mother and seven siblings, growing and preparing food and making their own music and fun. There were many stories of meeting her future husband when she was 16 years old, working in the Brandon Hospital with newborn babies and making homes and friends in the many places they were posted during Bill’s years in the army.

We remain with beautiful memories of a loving and unique woman: son David (Robin), daughter Rosemary (Gordon), grandchildren Angelica, Aaron and Richele (Clayton), great-grandchildren Belle & Ben, brother Tom, and many, many nieces and nephews, in-laws and friends.

Annie’s Angels were her caregivers over the last 9 years in Victoria: Rina, Estée, Lori, Wendy, Tara, Angela, Josi, Rosario, Gloria, Rebecca and Kim. Annie loved each and every one of them, and their dogs, too! Annie attended the Westshore Adult Day Program for many years and we cannot thank them enough for the many ways they enriched Annie’s life and the lives of seniors in the Westshore.

Heartfelt gratitude goes to her specialists, Dr. Katherine Jenkins and Dr. Gaylene Hargrove, who got Annie through Covid without a GP. They, and many ER medical professionals, have provided the most wonderful care over many years. Thanks, also, to the Kiwanis Pavilion, for their excellent care the last two months of Annie’s life.

In lieu of flowers, please feel free to make donations to the Victoria Eldercare Foundation at gvef.org, or the Victoria Hospice at victoriahospice.org

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.firstmemorialsaanich.com for the Wright family.