Browse the obituary of residing in the province of Nova Scotia for funeral details
Marina Christine Fjarlie, formerly also Marina Kavan and
Marina Fregeau 1946-2024 Born in Nanaimo, British Columbia in 1946,
Marina passed away in Nova Scotia on November 15, 2024, mere days
after her 78th birthday.
Marina Fjarlie, formerly of Broad Cove, Nova Scotia; Chicago,
Illinois; Maxville, Ontario; and Nanaimo, British Columbia, is
survived by her daughter, Leah Kavan; her grandchildren: Merydie Ross
(Charles Crossen), Kelton Ross (Brandon Fancy), Bryce Ross, and Aren
Kavan; and her great grand daughter, Ellaree Crossen. Marina is also
survived by her brother, Roy Fjarlie (Nancy Fjarlie), her sister,
Merydie Fjarlie (Ken Holdsworth), her nieces, nephew, and numerous
grand nieces and nephews. She is predeceased by her husband, Leo
Fregeau, son, Lent Kavan, and grandson, Robin Kavan. Marina leaves
behind her beloved and unwaveringly loyal Sheltie, Gem, who remains
with loving family.
Marina’s lifelong love of flowers began in early
childhood and manifested in the wedding and funerary flowers for
family and friends, in addition to the wildly popular florist
business, Timeless Creations (later Flowers by Timeless) in Western
Springs, Illinois, that she built from scratch with the support of her
dear friend, Ragnhild and daughter and co-owner,
Leah.
Marina had a real love of gardening, classic fashion, natural
textiles, artisan hand crafts – of which she turned her hand to a vast
variety over the years – nature, bucolic stories of people and their
interactions with the natural world, and the joy that comes from
humble endeavours, such as wild crafting, making pies, pickles,
breads, kefir and more from scratch.
However, her enjoyment of these things was eclipsed by her
legacy and the identity that was true to her essence as a person: that
of an artist. Largely self-taught with a couple of notable mentors,
Marina always viewed her training as an artist as one that began on
Gabriola Island as a young child under the tutelage of her
grandmother, an artist in her own right. She later attended Fischer
Price School of Art to further her training and complete high school.
Following high school she was employed as an artist for the Canadian
Department of Natural Resources, where she remained until marrying her
first husband, John Kavan. Together they travelled through Europe,
moved to Chicago, and spent many years visiting the Kavan family
island camp, ‘Jack Pine’, with their
children.
In Chicago, Marina continued her studies and work under the
mentorship of Chicago artist, Rudy Penn. Marina later taught art at
College of Dupage and ran flower design symposiums with her daughter
to support women’s’ health initiatives via the
Hinsdale Hospital Foundation. While married to John and raising her
children, Marina produced original paintings in oil and began
experimenting with creating paintings on odd shaped, often
asymmetrical canvases, which she created herself. Marina showed her
work throughout the Chicagoland area and juried shows as part of the
LaGrange Art League.
As her children came of age, Marina started Timeless
Creations, thanks largely to a successful private home show, where she
showcased dried flower arrangements.
Marina felt that her commitment to her artwork and production
of pieces slowed during her ownership of the ‘flower
shop’, which employed up to 4-5 people at one time, acted as
a gallery space for up and coming Chicago artists, and expanded
operations over the years to require multiple coolers and massive
seasonal shopping trips to wholesalers in addition to weekly flower
orders to stock the shop. As an award-winning florist,
Marina’s clients included walk-ins and bespoke in-home
arrangements. And she was frequently up all hours of the night
preceding various events, preparing elaborate and stunning
arrangements for weddings, showers, baptisms, funerals, churches, and
businesses. Marina’s personal style produced countless
arrangements, bouquets, and more that retained a natural,
wildflower-like appearance. Her work was also influenced during later
years by Ikebana, which was relatively unknown in the mainstream of
America at that time.
During these happy years, Marina enjoyed working with friends
and family, and innumerable shopping trips for the flower shop found
Marina and Leah laughing together to the point of tears by the
day’s end. Over this period of her life, Marina married the
second love of her life, Leo Fregeau, developed her property into one
of the most impressive gardens in the area, and delighted in the
growth and childhood of her grandchildren.
Despite what she viewed as a slowdown in the production of
her paintings at the time, Marina was proud that her pieces from this
time were commissioned by churches and acquired in private
collections, including that of musicians Jim Peterik of Survivor and
James Young of Styx.
When Marina and Leo joined her daughter’s family to
relocate to Nova Scotia, she was excited to return to Canada and to a
more simplistic life. Here, she devoted her lifestyle to being closer
to nature, and refocused her energies on her artwork during
retirement. For the rest of her life, she remained immensely proud of
the home she designed and had built in Broad Cove, overlooking the
cove itself and Indian Island. For many years, her home featured in
the Fort Point Museum home tour. It was one of the first contemporary
and truly original homes in the area that incorporated traditional
Lunenburg County architectural influences and inspired similar builds
across the region in subsequent years.
Marina was also a volunteer and supporter of Fort Point
Museum, where she took the lead in restoring the gardens on the
museum’s grounds and established and maintained a
historically accurate garden on site for many
years.
During this period of her life, Marina enjoyed participating
in the Christmas bird count, being an active member of the local
‘Stitchers’ group, taking day trips to the Valley,
shopping locally, visiting farmers markets and spending time with a
wide range of friends and creatives.
Her time in her home studio in Broad Cove resulted in several
collections of artwork, including an expansion of her use of odd
shaped and asymmetrical canvases, which she continued making herself,
a style which began to be widely copied by others. Unable to confine
herself to the limits of two dimensions, Marina began to combine her
past mastery in sculpture and floristry to create new canvases that
provided three dimensional space for her art to
flow.
With a company of fellow artists and the support of Gael
Watson, Marina established the first and annually recurring Above the
Water Art Gallery show on the second floor of the LaHave Bakery. A
proud member of the professional artist associations, she also showed
her work at the Lunenburg Art Gallery Society, The Craig Gallery at
Alderney Landing, the Halifax Club, the Shore Line Gallery at South
Shore Regional Hospital, and more.
Marina’s life took a turn when she was unexpectedly
diagnosed with advanced bladder cancer. Upon surviving cancer, the
realization that the chemicals in the very paint she used over her
entire life to create her life’s work are considered by
today’s medical community to be a likely contributor to
bladder cancer seemed to play a role in her decision never to pick up
her paintbrush again.
One of the brightest lights in Marina’s life after
cancer and through dementia and Alzheimer’s was her Sheltie,
Gem. Marina and Gem spent countless hours taking meandering walks
around Broad Cove and Gem was never far from Marina’s feet.
There was practically nowhere that Gem didn’t accompany
Marina, endearing the twosome to everybody they encountered through
her final years.
Family, friends, and fellow artists are invited to honor
Marina’s life and legacy at her Celebration of Life on
December 9th, from 1 pm to 4 pm, at the Above the Water Art Gallery
(2nd floor of the LaHave Bakery), in LaHave, Nova
Scotia.
Marina’s Celebration of Life will feature a
retrospective show of select artworks from throughout her life with
remembrances and readings by family beginning at 1 pm and stories
shared by those in attendance over mingling and tea service in the
gallery until 4 pm. In lieu of flowers, loved ones are encouraged to
donate to UNICEF Canada in honour of Marina’s love for
children across the globe and her deep desire to see children uplifted
from poverty and conflict. Marina’s family thanks the many
providers who gave compassionate care to Marina in her final days at
Queens General Hospital and Victoria General.
Arrangements have been entrusted to R.A. Corkum Funeral Home,
Wileville, where on-line condolences may be made by visiting
www.corkumfuneralhome.ca
1946 2024
Death notice for the town of: Wileville, Province: Nova Scotia
death notice Marina Fjarlie 1946 2024
obituaries notice Marina Fjarlie 1946 2024
We offer our deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Marina Fjarlie 1946 2024 and hope that their memory may be a source of comfort during this difficult time. Your thoughts and kind words are greatly appreciated.
