Obituary for
Iris Insch (Grimstead)
IRIS GRACE INSCH
(GRIMSTEAD)
Peacefully, with her son Scott at her side, Iris passed away in Seven Oaks General Hospital on September 24, 2018 at the age of 89.
Born in a house on Seven Oaks Avenue in West Kildonan on August 12, 1929, Iris was the youngest child of William and Lowa Grimstead.
In public school Iris demonstrated an aptitude for mathematics. In December 1944 she completed courses at the Comptometer School of Winnipeg. The following May she was hired by the T. Eaton Company, working in the sales audit department in the downtown store. While so employed she met her future husband, a fellow Eatonian, on an escalator in 1949.
Iris married Harold Raymond ‘Bud’ Insch in Chalmers United Church on June 4, 1952. They had three sons (Kenneth, William and Scott) and three daughters (Arlene, Sharon and Teresa)
A housewife from 1953, she attended various courses for re-entry into the workforce in 1977. Hired part-time by Eaton’s Garden City Store the following year, she worked as a sales clerk in the jewellery department until 1993. From November 1981, Iris also worked at the Health Sciences Centre (HSC) as an information clerk at the front entrance. She retired in 1998.
Iris was a member of Toastmasters International and the Liberal Party of Canada. She liked to cook, garden, research and shop. She also had a fondness for cats, having thirteen at one time while growing up on Seven Oaks Avenue.
A Protestant, Iris graduated from a church-centered life to a biblical one, then to one centered solely on Spirit. She was fiercely independent, stoic in the face of adversity, placed honesty above politeness, and possessed an inner confidence that, regardless of the trial or tribulation, she would always end up on the sunny side of the hill. And, she was often thanked for being truly helpful.
Her grandfather James Grimstead, being part of a massive build-up for war against the Union following the Trent affair (November 1861) during the American Civil War 1861-1865, arrived in Montreal with the 4th Brigade Field Artillery, Royal Artillery. He arrived in Manitoba in 1879, settling in Rosebank as a farmer after working as a blacksmith in Montreal from 1866 to 1878. (Re.”Hills of Home”, p 278)
In 1888, on a section of land called Kross, the settlement of Icelandic River (Geysir) became the new home for Iris’ maternal grandparents Antonius Jonsson and Guthfinna Finnsdottir. (Re.’Vesturfaraskra 1870-1914”, p.49)
Iris enjoyed meeting relatives, friends and former neighbours, in receiving their Christmas cards and chatting on the phone. She often reminisced about growing up in West Kildonan.
She recalled, walking home from Victory Elementary School, being chased by a cow down Jefferson Avenue; of tiptoeing past a tramp asleep by the railway tracks; of her cat Udi, singling her out in a row of girls walking across the prairie, jumping and wrapping around her neck, sending fifteen girls running and screaming.
The 1940’s began with the sudden death of her father. Three of her brothers enlisted and were sent overseas. Her thirteen cats were poisoned by a neighbour, each returned to die in her arms, and her favourite cousin Gordy Lewis, a member of the Royal Winnipeg Rifles, was murdered as a P.O.W. in Normandy in 1944 (Re. “Conduct Unbecoming” by Howard Margolian).
In 1949 Iris got her driver’s license. Lesson then were taught by the police, and part of them took place on the dusty roads of West Kildonan. With a sergeant’s frantic “Faster, they’re gaining on us!”, Iris shifted gears while sirens wailed behind. Many of her neighbours, with mouths agape in disbelief, screamed “It’s Iris!” For many years, whenever sirens wailed in the distance, “There goes Iris!” was the running joke.
Fortune also favoured her. While seeing brother Alvin off at the airport, Prime Minister Trudeau broke with his security to say hello, shake her hand, and tell her that he was just stopping to have lunch. “Okay,” shrugging her shoulders, “Carry on Pierre!” He laughed, kissed her hand, and was off. She regretfully had to wash that hand, but vowed that should she ever get a poodle, she’d call him Pierre.
And late one autumn evening, when returning home from her shift at HSC, her car chugged and chugged. Turning off onto an avenue in the North End, it stalled. She was very apprehensive about walking, but when she opened the door she was greeted with a hearty meow from a large tough-looking tom. With his tail in the air, he walked with her. Soon twelve other toms arrived, and all along the way home other cats and kittens came to say meow.
Iris was predeceased by her husband in 1983 and infant son William in 1962.
A private graveside service was held on October 2, 2018 at Historic Kildonan Cemetery with Pastor Gerhard Friesen officiating.
Scott and Sharon would like to extend a sincere thank you to the priest of the Roman Catholic Church who ministered to our sick mother in the early hours of the 24th of September. And Scott and Teresa would like to thank all that helped them care for their mother over the last ten years.
In lieu of flowers and cards, donations in memory of Iris Insch may be made to Historic Kildonan Cemetery and Church Inc., 2373 Main Street Winnipeg, Manitoba R2V 4T6, or to a no kill animal shelter of your choice.
Nos plus sincères sympathies à la famille et aux amis de Iris Grace
Insch Grimstead 1929 2018..
Décès pour la Ville: Winnipeg, Province: Manitoba
