EMILY KELLN

It is with a lot of sadness that we need to announce the death of our Mum and Grandma Emily. She passed away peacefully at her home of 25 years in Roberts Creek which she shared with her only son David and only grandson Rowan and of course a collection of dogs and cats and chickens. Born on the prairies near Govan, Saskatchewan to parents Annie and David Kelln, that had immigrated from Russia in 1905 she spent her childhood hunting gophers for the bounty on each tail, was a teenager during the Great Depression and was in her 20's during World War II. Predeceased by all of her brothers and sisters she was the last of her generation. She worked all her life in the restaurant industry starting at the Hotel Saskatchewan in the days when staff lined up for inspection each morning and made 25 cents an hour. The final 25 years of her working life were spent as Dining Room Manager at the Victoria Golf Course in Oak Bay B.C. where she regularly served people such as WAC Bennet and HR McMillan and even Bob Hope on one occasion. Always fiercely independent and self assured she was a single mother in the 1950's when it was not the accepted norm but she navigated all that and thrived. Until 1967 she lived in Regina Saskatchewan and then after the death of both her parents said goodbye to prairie winters and moved us to Victoria, B.C. One of her great joys in life was her cottage on Hornby Island where she spent many weekends and after retirement many summers. In 1992 she moved to Roberts Creek and we built a home on 2 1/2 acres of woods that of course all needed landscaping and gardens. Being outside with her wheelbarrow and shovel every day probably contributed greatly to her longevity. Another thing that kept her going was her Grandson Rowan, born in 2007, whom she loved very dearly. While she may have needed her walker she was always up for a game of Cops and Robbers. Her greatest legacy isn't building a great fortune or an achievement in sports or science. It was that she raised her son to know that he was always loved, trusted, and supported absolutely whether he always deserved it or not. A celebration of life will be held Sunday, April 1 at 1:00 pm at her home 1422 Tanager Place.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of EMILY KELLN, please visit our floral store.