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Our family is sorting out our emotions as we say goodbye to our wonderful Mom, “Nana”, and “Nana-The-Great” ~ Velma Maude Uren. To be absent from her body, is to be present with Jesus. Mom passed quietly and peacefully Sunday morning October 11th at Abbotsford Hospital. She was 101. Her doctor spoke about her “wonderful quantity of life and her great quality of life.” She was blessed with both!
We will be missing her terribly but realize her pains are gone, her eyes are bright, she can hear the angels singing praises to God, and she is with her dearest life companion – our Dad, Bud – and her friends and family who have gone before. Mom, we look forward to seeing you again in Heaven!
Mom, Nana, and Nana-The-Great, Velma began her life on a farm in Crystal City Manitoba with her parents, William and Agnes Brownlee, and two brothers, Henry and Everett, and her sister Evelyn. A tractor accident, injuring her Dad, precipitated a move to Vancouver when she was in her teens. Here she met James ( Bud ) Uren and quickly fell in life-long-love and married in 1942.
Velma and Bud attended The Metropolitan Tabernacle in those days and then Mom was active in founding Tenth Avenue Alliance Church. It was in these days she met her life-long friends who have been loving and loyal to her throughout her long life. Velma and Bud had two children, Ruth, and Doug. They married Jack Muir and Patt Friesen and always stayed in close connection with their families. Doug’s and Patt’s children Hillary (Kevin and Hannah), Kelly (Sean), Brendan (Alex and Zoey) adored their Nana and all are grieving her loss greatly. Nana was able to visit with all her grandchildren and her two great granddaughters very recently, out in the sunshine, and she was so happy to see, and hear, and hold them, and tell them she loved them. Those photos will be cherished ! Velma worked long hard hours while raising her family but always found time for them and always made them her highest priority. They lived a few retirement years in Penticton and there too, found great friends and enjoyed the Okanagan to the fullest. Abbotsford was their home in later years and again enjoyed a home church there; old and new friends were always welcomed in their home for Velma’s special shrimp cocktails and sweet treats! After Bud passed away she moved to Tabor Court were she lived out her last years. Special thanks to those there who were so kind, made her feel needed, and secure.
On behalf of the family we extend deep, heartfelt gratitude to Ruth, who has been “There for Mom” throughout her life. Ruth was the one to handle all the many wants and needs of an aging mother, and she is the one who made Mom’s last years so sweet, and easy! Doug says, “I was the one to slide in and be the ‘Far Side of Life’ for Mom and we had great times together, but Ruth, you were the glue and all our family is so grateful to you!”
A private, family-only Celebration of Life will take place November 14 2020. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to FOOD FOR THE HUNGRY at www.fhcanada.org
Our most sincere sympathies to the family and friends of Velma Maude Uren Brownlee July 25 1919
October 11 2020..
Death notice for the town of: Abbotsford, Province: Colombie britanique