Obituary of Edna Robb

Edna May Robb, February 10, 1922 - May 23, 2020 Peacefully, our mom left us on May 23, 2020 in her 99th year. She is predeceased by her best friend and husband Wally for 54 years, her daughter Marilyn, her sisters Dorothy Nichols and Ruby Jones and her infant sisters, Kathleen, Irene and Iris. She is survived by her daughters, Barbara Lehman (Carl), of Windsor, Irene Bell (Terry) and Carol, of Brantford and her son, Wayne (Martina) of Grand Blanc, Michigan. She is also survived by her grandchildren Michael, Jennifer, Laura, Lindsay, Robbyn and Sarah and eight great grandchildren. She was born on February 10, 1922 in Glastonbury, Somerset, England. Her father had served in the British Army during WWI and had trained in Halifax, Nova Scotia. His dream was to return to Canada to live and in 1925 with his reluctant wife, our 3 year old mom, and her infant sister boarded a ship and crossed the Atlantic to Canada. Her parents both became seasick on the voyage and mom remembered running around on the deck all by her 3 year old self. From Halifax they traveled to Simcoe Ontario and settled on a farm in the small town of Renton, Ontario. She was unable to go to high school as she needed to work; work which included hours of tying tobacco leaves for the kilns and as a housekeeper to wealthy families. She eventually moved to Hamilton with her family. During WWII she worked at Westinghouse, whose role at that time was to support the war effort. She met my dad Wally at a dance, despite the fact that my dad never danced. She was smittened with him and their dates included times waiting for him to finish his chores on the farm. They married in September, 1946 and traveled to Northern Ontario on their honeymoon. Dad's niece Barbara hitched a ride with them as far as Sudbury where she lived. Barbara kidded them for years about how she went on their honeymoon with them. Mom moved to the farm in Lynden with my dad...a town where she knew no one but surrounded by her new family and good neighbours. They had five children and shared the hard work of farming and parenting for 27 years. After retirement they decided to travel..the east of Canada, the prairies of the west, Vancouver and Yellowknife. They traveled throughout the states including Hawaii and Alaska. With dad, mom finally returned to England to meet up with extended family and to see the place where she was born. They also toured throughout Europe. These 20 years were happy and carefree years for them and lasted until my dad's health began to fail. Sadly he passed 20 years before she. Her own health was compromised when 10 years ago she had a catastrophic fall and her own suffering began. She is the last sister of her family and the last sister in law of her extended family; she is the last cousin of her English family. She is the last of her generation. She had over 98 years of love, hard work, fun, sorrow and suffering. From the day they met until the very end she always loved Wally. Given the circumstances, her immediate family will take her to final resting place at Mount Zion Cemetery, Copetown, Ontario. Funeral arrangements are entrusted with Beckett-Glaves Family Funeral Centre, 88 Brant Ave. Brantford, 519-752-4331. Condolences and tributes are available at www.beckettglaves.com A tree will be planted in memory of Edna in the Beckett-Glaves Memorial Forest.