Marion Jean Kirby née Torrance died peacefully at home in North Saanich, British Columbia on 31 March 2017 at the age of 93 after a brief illness. Born on 15 January 1924 in her parents’ home in Carbon, Alberta, Marion was the second daughter of Stanley Torrance and Ethel Hay Torrance, younger sister to Patricia Elaine (Douglas). Marion enjoyed a happy childhood in rural Alberta south-east of Calgary. She attended boarding school at Mount Royal College in Calgary.  Following studies at the University of Alberta, she qualified as a Registered Nurse. She later completed postgraduate studies at Cornell University Hospital in New York and returned home certified as an Operating Room Nurse. In 1953, Marion met her future husband, the Hon. William John Cameron Kirby, Q.C., while nursing at the Colonel Belcher Hospital in Calgary; they married in Calgary on 10 April 1954. They lived in Red Deer until 1960 when they moved to Calgary on her husband’s appointment to the Supreme Court of Alberta (Queen’s Bench). In 1985, they retired to North Saanich on Vancouver Island. She cherished being a wife, mother and grandmother and made her home a sanctuary for her family.  Marion was an avid reader; ever curious, vivacious and fun, she had a fervent interest in politics and current affairs, and with close friends shared her strong opinions on the “state of the nation”.

Marion is predeceased by her husband Cameron and her sister Elaine.  She is survived by her children William John Torrance Kirby (Margaret) and Catherine Elaine Clark (Stephen Clark); and her grandchildren, in whom she delighted – Stephanie and David Clark, Elizabeth and Kate Kirby. We will all of us miss her very much.

Owing to the kind and gentle care of Val King and Anita Johnstone, Marion was able to lead a relatively independent life at home in her final years. Special thanks are due to Dr Ryan Liebscher, the Peninsula Health Authority, and the Palliative Care Unit of the Royal Jubilee Hospital, Victoria.

Funeral Service will be held at Holy Trinity Anglican Church, Patricia Bay, North Saanich, at 10:30 a.m. on Easter Monday, 17 April.

Condolences may be offered to the family below.

McCall Gardens
www.mccallgardens.com

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