It is with great sadness that we announce the death on August 5, 2011, of Yvonne Heap at the Craigdarroch Care Home in Victoria. Yvonne died peacefully and in a loving environment at the age of 90. Predeceased by her husband, Charles; her daughter, Denise and her sister, Shirley (Macaulay). She leaves son, Peter; daughter-in-law, Lynda (Cronin); son-in-law, Tino (Di Bella) and sisters, Edith (Hyatt) and Fernande (Cassells). She also leaves a growing collection of nephews, nieces, great-nephews and great-nieces in Canada and England. Yvonne was born in Middlechurch, Manitoba on November 3, 1920, and her family moved to Vancouver several years later. She met and married her beloved husband, Charles, then a dashing RAF pilot, in Vancouver during World War ll. After the war, the young couple emigrated from England and settled back in Vancouver to raise a family. Yvonne relished the following years, playing lots of tennis, raising children and enjoying the troops of friends that Charles’ cricket and field hockey endeavours brought back to the house. Her mother, Jeanne Taylor, lived with the Heaps and Yvonne and her three sisters had houses within 10 blocks or so of each other. Presided over by “Grand’mere” through the nineteen fifties and well into the seventies, the group of cousins grew to eleven, and rarely a month went by without a birthday party, celebration of Quatorze Juillet, Christmas, Easter or other event to bring the extended tribe together. ln June 1962, Charles died of a brain tumour and life took a harder turn. Re-entering the workforce, Yvonne began a fruitful career as a research assistant in the
neuro-physiology laboratory at the University of British Columbia. Yvonne’s hard work made it possible for her children to complete their educations, with Denise becoming a successful lawyer in Victoria and Peter becoming a diplomat and senior official in governments in Ottawa and BC. After her retirement from UBC, Yvonne moved from Vancouver to Victoria, where she enjoyed a stupendous view from Willows Beach and the company of friends and family. Through a long and productive life, Yvonne was a strong-willed and proud woman – she had much to be proud of and she will be sorely missed. The family wishes to thank Dr Brian Winsby as well as Christina Scott and the Craigdarroch staff for their highly professional and loving care of Yvonne, especially over the past nine months.
The Funeral Service will be held in St Andrew’s Cathedral in Victoria on Tuesday, August 16, 2011 at 12:00 Noon. Yvonne will be laid to rest with her beloved Charles in Vancouver. ln lieu of flowers, donations can be sent to the Alzheimer Society of British Columbia, #202 – 306 Burnside Road West, Victoria, BC V8Z 1M1. Condolences may be offered to the family at www.mccallbros.com.
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