Betty Wilcox
1950-2022
Betty Wilcox of Stanhope PEI passed away peacefully on
Thursday, July 7th at Queen Elizabeth Hospital,
Charlottetown after a long battle trying to recover from a massive
heart attack, she had suffered in early May that had left her with
only 20 percent heart function. She had just turned 72 on June
24th and had hoped for many more creative and
fruitful years on her adopted island home.
Predeceased by her parents, Johannes and Jantina Mensink, she
is survived by her husband, John Wilcox, sister, Maryke Mareti ,
brother, John Mensink, partner Catherine Ostell and their daughter,
Jessica Mensink. Betty was an aunt to John’s sister,
Cathy’s children, David and Laura, and a great aunt with the
births of Henry by Laura and later Mavis by David’s wife,
Kandas. She leaves behind numerous cousins, both here and in the
Netherlands and Betty made innumerable friends as she journeyed
through her life.
Born in the Netherlands in the aftermath of WW2, Betty along
with her parents and sister arrived in Ontario, Canada and over time
adapted to a different way of life. She spent her adolescent years and
young adulthood in Kitchener-Waterloo where she met her future
husband, John. They married in July of 1971.
After John’s college graduation, the couple moved
to Victoria on Vancouver Island and settled in for a 14 year stay. The
University of Victoria proved to be exactly right for Betty. She
blossomed and in 1984 she received Bachelor of Arts degrees in both
History and Art History. She received her Bachelor of Education degree
in 1989.
Economics precipitated a move back to Ontario shortly
thereafter but after two years there and dealing with another economic
downturn, Betty managed to land a teaching job in Yellowknife, NWT and
off they went. This move allowed Betty to thrive in all aspects of her
very visual world and she threw herself into every challenge and
thrived: Teaching, Painting, Illustrating, Murals on buildings, Murals
in the school, decorated garbage bins, Fibreglass Ravens, Talent
shows, Art shows, Department head for fine arts, many awards and too
many more projects to list. These were vibrant years for
Betty.
Unfortunately, a confrontation with some unruly students
resulted in her being physically slapped and consequently her mental
health started to deteriorate with PTSD and major depression also
started to manifest. She valiantly tried to carry on, but it became
too much for her to handle and she was placed on long term disability
leave. In 2010 she and her husband moved to Stanhope PE and their
new-built home.
By the time Betty arrived in PEI, she was battling deeper
bouts of depression and was desperate for some professional help. With
persistence she was able to find a psychiatrist in the person of Dr.
Benjamin Spears, whom she credited with saving her life. Together they
successfully held Betty’s demons at bay throughout her
nearly 12 years on PEI.
These years on PEI were filled with activity and a
determination to get on with her life. Despite being hampered by a
tremor from her Parkinson’s disease, she was still able to
produce some wonderful artwork, share her skills with others, took art
classes and had become part of PEI’s art
community.
Betty also immersed herself in Christian meditation,
spirituality, chair yoga, Christian retreats and social activism
through her membership in the council of Canadians, participation in
the proportion representation movement and her NDP party membership.
She enjoyed her life on PEI and looked forward to further embracing
east-coast living with its’ ever-changing weather, lush
forests, wildlife, quant villages and coastline.
Betty was a visual artist, she was a teacher, she was kind,
she had a big heart, she wanted to see fairness prevail, she loved
animals, she was one of the nicest and most thoughtful people you
could ever ask to meet. She will be missed.
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Our most sincere sympathies to the family and friends of Betty Wilcox 19502022..
Death notice for the town of: Charlottetown, Province: I-P-E