Kathleen Edith (nee Lewis) McCombe
1943-2020
Kathleen McCombe, aged 76, beloved wife of the late Rev.
George Albert Stephen McCombe, passed away peacefully on June 6, 2020
at the Dr. Everett Chalmers Hospital in Fredericton, N.B. after a
brief illness.
Kathleen was born in Tatworth, Somerset, England on August
25, 1943 to the late Alice Mary (Puddy) and Charles Frederick Nugent
Lewis. She came to Canada with her family in 1946, and grew up on the
West Side of Saint John, N.B. Following her graduation from Saint John
Vocational School she worked in a pediatric clinic and for Warner
Brothers films.
In 1966, Kathleen responded to a letter written to her family
by Rev. McCombe, then a newly minted Anglican minister, who had
emigrated from Liverpool to take an assignment in Saskatchewan. He
knew no one in Canada but a mutual family friend in England (knowing
nothing of the distances between places in Canada), suggested that he
write to the Lewis family in New Brunswick. Kathleen and
Stephen struck up a correspondence which turned into a life-long
romance, including a marriage proposal by mail after they finally met
in 1967. Embracing her new role, Kathleen became the
quintessential minister’s wife and took great pride in the
partnership she and Stephen had serving the members of their parishes
in Maidstone Saskatchewan, Fredericton, Campobello Island, and
Edmundston while they raised their boys. They retired to New Maryland
in 1991 and later to Fredericton, where Stephen studied for a degree
in Classics and Kathleen audited some of the same university courses.
Kathleen and Stephen had a wonderful marriage. They joyfully finished
each other’s sentences for 47 years until
Stephen’s death in 2015.
An artist with any kind of needle, Kathleen always had a
project on the go creating something beautiful for her family, a
parishioner, or a church sale. Many babies have napped under
her lovely blankets and quilts or been bundled up into cozy sweaters,
mittens or pretty dresses that she made with love. She was a superb
cook and baker, and “Nana’s baking squares” are
legend among her grandchildren’s friends. A life-long
learner, Kathleen was a talented and keen amateur genealogist and
historian who traced the history of her family back as far as the
mid-1500’s. As keeper of the family records, she documented
many stories for her children and grandsons to pass down to
generations.
Kathleen was a loving mother to her sons and her
daughter-in-law, an adoring “Nana” to her grandsons, a
wonderful sister and a lovely aunt. She delighted in her
family and never forgot to mark an occasion for any of
us.
Kathleen is survived by her sons, Dr. Padraic McCombe of Fort
McMurray (Judge Stephanie Cleary) and Simon McCombe of Fredericton,
grandsons James and George McCombe, sister Avis (the late William)
Booth (nee Lewis) and brother Edward Lewis (Linda) of Saint John, and
nieces Melissa Connor (Stephen) of Moncton and Sarah Foye (Darcy) of
Halifax.
A service celebrating Kathleen’s life will be held
at a date in the future.
Donations in memory of Kathleen may be made to the New
Brunswick SPCA at PO Box 1412, Fredericton, NB E3B 5E3
www.frederictonspca.ca.
www.mcadamsfh.com
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Our most sincere sympathies to the family and friends of Kathleen Edith nee Lewis McCombe 19432020..
Death notice for the town of: Fredericton, Province: Nouveau-Brunswick