Late on the night of January 1 to the 2 around 12:25am. My dear love, my friend,
my soul mate, my companion in life, my all and my every thing, my LADY ANNE
passed on Angel's wings to Heaven.
Through all her life she endured many trials and tribulations.
Life was not always easy, but she never gave up hope,
and through it all, she found many times of great happiness.
We travelled the world, which she found to be a wonderful adventure,
going to all the places she held dear to her in her heart - Ireland, Germany, England ,
in fact all of the British Isles.
We spent St Valentine's day last year in Paris,
the most romantic city in the world. She was very happy,
and had finally risen above the depression
that had held her back so many times in her life.
Through all of this she knew that she was loved by family and friends,
and she returned that love.
This year was Anne's best. She Loved our new home on the side of a beautiful Lake.
When we turned off the highway she would say that she felt all stress slip away
as we drove along Shawnigan Lake Road,
which she called our long driveway. She was living life to the fullest, enjoying friends,
and company.
She organised many parties at our new lake house, and we all got to see the real Anne,
unburdened by her past troubles.
In April when her grandmother passed away she was a pillar of strength,
doing all she could, and arranging beautiful sprays of flowers for her beloved grandmother.
She was honoured to contribute to charities.
Out of the loving kindness of her heart she sponsored Elida-Veronique,
a young girl from Guatemala through the Foster Parents Plan, she called her daughter.
She was an active member of the Military and Hospitaller Order of St.Lazarus of Jerusalem,
in which she held the rank of Commander and was decorated as a
Member of the Companionate of Merit, of which she was very proud.
She also drew great spiritual strength from the strong religious ties of the Order.
Her love of animals was also very great. One day when our cat caught
a small baby squirrel and hurt it badly. She immediately took it to the vet,
but it was beyond help, so she asked the vet put it to sleep as gently as possible.
She loved all her Poodles, each and every one. She got her new puppy in August,
and called him her little gift of love from her grandmother.
She called him Sparky Barishnikoff because of the great ballet-like leaps
he does around the house. He was a joy in her life, and her constant companion.
Andrew and his Melissa became, in a real true sense, her own children,
becoming very close, but still having to be firm with them as a mother should,
and loving them dearly. She loved all the young friends and all our friends very deeply.
Her family meant everything to her and she received great strength
from their love and support. She was a beautiful,
fragile rose that blossomed to its fullest, passing on at the finest point in her life,
and staying forever young.
With God's Grace, may she pass on Angels' wings to Heaven, and may her
blessings shine down from Heaven upon us all.