Marion Grant Skillen
1928-2018
Following a brief illness, Marion Grant (Anderson) Skillen
died in Fredericton on October 2, 2018 in her
91st year. Born in Newcastle New Brunswick, on
May 25, 1928 and raised in Burnt Church, she was the daughter of the
late James Gordon and Maud (Simpson) Anderson.
Marion is predeceased by her husband, Norman Albert Skillen,
who died in 1989, her daughter, Kathryn Ann, who died at the age of 5
in 1965, her sister, Lois McKenzie, (2012) and her brother-in-law,
Lorne Wishart (1983). She is survived by her son, Bob Skillen, her
daughter-in-law, Gisele LeBlanc, and their three children, Anne-Marie
Kathryn (Tim Crowell), John Robert and David Edward Norman (Chantele
Joordens). She is also survived by her great granddaughters Ella Marie
and Brooklyn Anne Crowell as well as her sisters, Margery Wishart and
Elizabeth Shaffelburg (Bob), and her brother-in-law, Elmer McKenzie
and their families. She also leaves to mourn her extended family, the
LeBlanc family, from Oromocto and Fredericton.
Mom was blessed to have been born into the Anderson clan of
Burnt Church. Nestled on the shores of Miramichi Bay, Burnt Church is
in many ways an idyllic, almost magical village. At least that is how
mom described it and how those of us in the next generation have
experienced it from our early years to present day.
Mom enjoyed her early years in Burnt Church with aunts and
uncles, first, second and even third cousins living close by. She
attended the village’s one-room school house but had to
leave home to attend Harkins High School in Newcastle. It was then on
to UNB for a brief stint before completing a BSc in Home Economics at
Mount Allison University in 1951. During her university days, for two
summers, mom worked at the Seaside House in Metis Beach,
Quebec.
Mom’s first teaching job was in Richmond, Quebec.
That is where she met Norman, who became the love of her life. After
returning to NB and Saint John High School for a year of reflection,
Marion married Norman on September 11, 1954 in Burnt Church. Their
married life took them to Cowansville, Que where they raised their
family.
Courage and strong character are the words that describe
Marion. Losing Kathryn in 1965 and then facing down Norman’s
two strokes in the early 1970s and dealing with a severe case of
Essential Tremor tested mom’s resolve, but true to her stoic
Anderson roots, she “stood sure”.
There are many people to thank for the love and support they
have shown to Marion over recent days and weeks including her friends
at Shannex Parkland along with its staff, her doctor and friend Tom
Barry, the nursing staff on 3rd Floor East
(DECH), Dr. Goodfellow and the incredibly caring staff at Hospice
Fredericton.
A ceremony to honour mom’s life will be held at
Memorial Hall on the UNB Fredericton campus at 2:00 pm on Sunday,
November 4. A private burial will take place in Burnt Church and
Cowansville at another time. Arrangements are being handled by McAdam
Funeral Home. Donations may be made to the Skillen-LeBlanc Family
Scholarship at UNB, Hospice Fredericton or a charity of the
donor’s choice.
“I am a strong woman. Everything that’s hit me
in life I’ve dealt with on my own. I’ve cried
myself to sleep. Picked myself back up and wiped my own tears. I have
grown from things meant to break me. I get stronger by the day and I
have God to thank for that.”
www.mcadamsfh.com
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Our most sincere sympathies to the family and friends of Marion Grant Skillen 19282018..
Death notice for the town of: Fredericton, Province: Nouveau-Brunswick