Obituary
Legendary Worrier and Weather Watcher
First off, as her daughter, allow me to say that the above title is not meant to
diminish Enid. She was also a legendary mother and grandmother. She loved
her three grandchildren as though they were the most precious creatures to
ever walk the earth. And in fact, to her they were. She loved them so much you
could see it hurt her sometimes. She loved them so much that just a photo of
one of them could bring her to tears.
And as a mother she was the best. The old fashioned kind. The sort, who even
though they worry about a lot of things, would send us outside after dinner in
the darkest dark, in minus 35 degrees to play in the snow. The kind who would
make us a sandwich with mayo on it and then send us off on our bicycles to the
beach for the day (no cooler lunch bags then!) The sort who would raise her
voice at us often enough that we learned to take it, but not so often that we
were emotionally scarred. Well… not very badly anyway.
But, yes, she was, had to be, one of the worlds greatest worriers. She worried
about so many things; cold hands, cold feet, wet hair, white bread, fish bones,
spiders and chimney fires… She worried about making left hand turns in a car.
And eventually she just refused to make them. She worried about us driving in
bad weather – or good weather but on a busy highway. She worried every time
anyone she knew had to drive through Mactier. She worried about us going out
on a boat on a gorgeous sunny day. She worried about the apocalypse.
And she would watch the Weather Network so that she didn’t miss anything to
worry about. By the end of her life, the Weather Network was turned on,
volume up, on the tv in her bedroom, literally 24/7. That way if she woke up in
the middle of the night, she would know right away if she needed to stay awake
and worry. If she came to stay with me for a week or more, by about day three
I would find myself humming the Weather Network theme music when I was
out of earshot of her tv.
So its indisputable. She was beyond dedicated to the weather and to worry. But
I know she had her reasons. She was born the eldest daughter in a poor and
chaotic family of nine children. She watched her parents drink and fight and
terrify the younger ones. She grew up in northern Muskoka, where the winters,
at that time, in their impoverished circumstances, were possibly life
threatening. She witnessed a lot of trauma I expect, though she didn’t share
much of it with us. I know there was alcohol abuse, car accidents, at least one
house fire, divorce, treasured kittens swept away in a cruel and cold spring
river.
I think of the strength and courage it must have taken to get up and face her
circumstances some days. I think of her resilience. And I am in awe of her
capacity for joy. Still, there’s more…
At the age of 36 her doctor found a lump in her left breast and within an
instant she had had a mastectomy. When she was 58 she was diagnosed with
ovarian cancer which meant an immediate hysterectomy followed by
chemotherapy. At 69 the breast cancer was back and so another mastectomy
and more chemo. By age 72 the cancer had metastasized to her brain. What do
you do then? Well if you’re a legendary worrier, weather watcher – and at this
point we really do need to add warrior to the list – you have brain surgery and
then you have more chemo and then you have radiation on your head.
By now you get the picture. Enid IS a legend. And, I must add, a beautiful soul.
She lived her stormy, worry-filled life with joy, humour, determination and a
healthy dose of attitude.
She enjoyed eating cold spaghetti for breakfast and soggy left over salad for
lunch. She made friends with people from all walks of life and she adored wine,
music and dancing, occasionally at the same time. On her birthdays she and
her sisters would dress up in bizarre costumes that they would assemble from
ridiculous old clothes found at the Red Cross in Burks Falls. Then they would
go out on the town, popping into the bars and coffee shops, smoking cigarettes
and laughing hysterically at the alarm and fascination they attracted. She
absolutely couldn’t stop herself from having a good time. Even when there was
bad weather on the horizon.
She loved watching a storm roll in across the big sound in Parry Sound – from
the safety of her car of course – and maybe with a box of Kentucky Fried
Chicken. She loved picnics and camping and she hated any form of boating
(very worrisome). She loved seeing new places but she really, really hated
getting there.
She was flawlessly humble. Always her genuine self. She drank her water from a
mason jar. She shopped compulsively for groceries, cardigans, stationary,
colourful yarn, old china tea cups and shoes on sale. Her pockets were full of
balled up Kleenex. She loved her job as an administrative assistant at Cormier
Adjusting Service in Parry Sound and then in Huntsville. She wasn’t vain, but
she did love her plum coloured lipstick.
With all the cancer, she left us too early and we miss her prodigiously. But my
mother gave us the finest example of how to live life that I could ever hope to
have. Her’s was a life of courage in the face of adversity, strength on behalf of
the vulnerable and an irrepressible, buoyant, rebellious expression of joy.
She will be remembered lovingly and affectionately celebrated by her many
friends in Kelowna. She was known as Wee Edie to her nickname-mad family
and her memory as a mother figure, sister and friend is cherished by Susan
Phinney of Niagara Falls, Ontario, Luane akaTink Phinney, Lily Phinney and
Bruce Phinney of Burks Falls, Ontario, Janis Phinney of Edmonton, Alberta
and Ross aka Bing Phinney of Arizona City, Arizona. She is pre-deceased by
her beloved younger sister Elizabeth Phinney, her older brother Ronald
Phinney, mother Mable Phinney and father Norman Phinney.
We, her daughters, Kimberley (Donald) and Vanessa (Jim), along with everyone
who knew her well, grieve for our loss. She was so warm and vibrant. Her
absence is a sorrow that we know time will ease but never completely erase.
Her grandchildren Gordon, Parker and Farrah have known the unconditional
love and devotion of a truly original grandmother and are growing into good
human beings because of it.
KR
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Our most sincere sympathies to the family and friends of Enid Joyce Walmsley July 20 1946

December 5 2021..

everden rust funeral services & cremation

Death notice for the town of: Kelowna, Province: Colombie britanique

death notice Enid Joyce Walmsley July 20 1946

December 5 2021

mortuary notice Enid Joyce Walmsley July 20 1946

December 5 2021