Obituary Overview
Annie Margaretta Wheatley
Anne Marguerite (née Elliott) Wheatley
(1938- 2018)
The family of Anne Marguerite (Elliott) Wheatley are devastated to
report that at 1:05 am on Saturday, February 17, 2018, the world lost a
devoted wife, a loving mother and a proud grandmother. If you think this sounds
like most families’ mothers, wives and grandmothers, you probably need to read
the rest of her story.
First of all, the name she was born with on November 8, 1938, in Happy
Adventure, Newfoundland, was Annie Margaretta Elliott. Anne never really liked
that name so she decided to “update” it to something she preferred. We’re not
sure when this happened, but Annie Margaretta became Anne Marguerite at least
60 years ago.
Anne was the third child born to Garfield Eliol Elliott
(1912-1976) and Laura Fredericka Essylemond (Monnie) Weeks (1913-1952)
who were also born in outport communities of Bonavista Bay, Newfoundland.
Anne’s life was not an easy one—especially after her mother died when
she was just 14 years old. Anne said when her mother was alive, things were
great. “She baked pastries and bread and played the accordion at square dances.
She taught me how to knit and sew. I felt loved by her.”
Anne also said she never knew she was poor. “I suppose we were but
everybody in Happy Adventure lived like we did. Nobody had electricity until
around the 1960s. We all used kerosene lamps, outhouses, chamber pots and coal
heat. There was one phone on the hill that we would all use.”
The early death of Laura (Weeks) Elliott meant that Anne and her
sisters, Laura and Rose, had to assume the role of mother to six of their
siblings.
Anne, Laura and Rose shared the caring, cooking and cleaning duties
while their father was away fishing or woodcutting. They managed to get an
education by rotating turns at who got to go to school for two weeks and who
had to stay home and look after their brothers and sisters.
When Anne was 15 or 16, she managed to get away from Happy Adventure
and work as a waitress at the Carmelite Hotel in Grand Falls. She loved her
work as a waitress. She met lots of people, made plenty in tips and enjoyed
watching movies with her best friend Barb Johns in her spare time.
In her mid-20s, Anne moved to Dartmouth, NS, where she met her future
husband, Thomas David Wheatley, at a friend’s wedding shower in Eastern
Passage, NS.
On April 30, 1966, she walked down the aisle of St. Alban’s Anglican
Church in Woodside. Later, that autumn, she gave birth to twins Melissa
Melonie and Melinda Fredericka who kept her busy for two years until
Charmaine Lynn arrived on October 15, 1968. So by the age of 29, Anne
had three daughters in diapers. Her fourth daughter, Charlette Nadine,
came along on August 27, 1972.
All daughters are in full agreement that Anne Marguerite Wheatley was
an outstanding, patient and loving mother who always put the needs of her
children first. Like her husband, Anne was also a devout member of Jehovah’s
Witnesses which meant attending several services a week, children in tow.
Anne’s adult life wasn’t entirely easy either. In addition to mothering
four spirited children, she struggled and suffered with several debilitating
illnesses including crippling depression, painful arthritis, bipolar disorder,
diabetes, Alzheimer’s and eventually colitis.
About six years before her death, Anne was asked, “If you were to die
and come back as a person or thing, what do you think it would be?” Her
response was: “There is no person good enough that I would want to come back
as. Guess it will have to be a butterfly so I could flit around with pretty
colours.”
Anne is survived by the love of her life, her husband of nearly 52
years, Thomas David Wheatley; eldest daughter Melissa Wheatley
(Jeff Williams); twin daughter, Melinda Wheatley (Costas Tsimpoukas);
artist daughter Charmaine Wheatley; youngest daughter Charlette
Gebhardt (Gunnar); grandson Jacob Eli Gebhardt; grandson Thomas
Jaden Wheatley; sister Laura (Tony) Byzewski; sister Rose
(Perley) Hayward; brother Sylvester “Selby” (Loretta); brother James;
brother Eugene (Cathy); sister Gloria; stepsister Florence (late
Roy) Skinner; stepsister Margaret (David) Petrossie;
stepsister Shirley (late Lyman) Taylor; numerous nieces and
nephews; and her constant furry companion and confidant, the charming and
clever Mr. Timbit Wheatley, a shih tzu/border terrier mix.
Anne was predeceased by her father Garfield Eliol Elliott;
mother Laura (Monnie) Weeks Elliott; sister Jane; sister Henrietta;
infant sister Vida
The family of Anne Wheatley hope you’ll be able to attend one of the
following events:
Visitation Wednesday, 2- 4 pm; 7-9pm on February 21, in Atlantic
Funeral Home, 771 Main Street Dartmouth. Interment of ashes at 2:30pm Friday,
February 23rd in Dartmouth Memorial Gardens
767 Main Street, Dartmouth. Memorial Service on Saturday,
February 24 at 2 pm , Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses 101 Forest Hills
Parkway, Dartmouth
Online condolences may be sent by visiting the Dartmouth Chapel at www.atlanticfuneralhomes.com
Nos plus sincères sympathies à la famille et aux amis de Annie Margaretta Wheatley 2018.source
Décès pour la Ville: Dartmouth, Province: Nova Scotia
