COLBY, Grace Alice Wickenden. 1922-2006 Died peacefully November 27, 2006. Cherished wife of John H.E. Colby and dear mother of Glenn Cranker (Maria), Judith MacPherson, and Nancy Cranker. Grandmother of Alice (Mark Crow) and Bobby Cranker, Christopher and Matthew MacPherson. Married to John Colby in 1976, Grace also leaves behind a large extended family. John's daughters: Jocelyn St. Pierre (Jean Paul) and their children Ruth Lehrer, Tracey Lessard (Matthew), Jeff and Steve St. Pierre (Samantha) and daughter Jennifer Holzgang (Alec) and their children Brenda Taylor (Roy), Erica Beghuin (Albert), Monica, Becky Gutierrez (Fernando), Laura, and Philip; and several great-grandchildren. Grace was devoted to her husband and her family. She lit up the lives of those around her with her vibrant personality and charming intelligent wit. Grace loved painting, particularly with her good friends of The Hingston Art Group, who she met with weekly for almost thirty years. Family members enjoyed Grace's artwork of portraits and nature scenes, many of which celebrated the Laurentians where Grace spent childhood summers and the Eastern Townships where Grace lived most recently. Grace enjoyed her final days doing what she loved the most: gardening, taking care of her cats and sharing time with John, family and friends. A private memorial service will be held at a later date. Much appreciation goes to Dr. William Barakett and the staff of the Brome Missisquoi Perkins Hospital for making Grace's last days as comfortable as possible.
Published in the Montreal Gazette on 11/29/2006.
Grace Colby
June 9, 1922 - November 27, 2006Love of art, literature, and the beauties of nature came to Grace Alice Wickenden Colby as a birthright. Her paternal grandfather, Robert J. Wickenden (1861-1931), was a late-Romantic artist whose career spanned England, France, Canada, and the United States; he also enjoyed writing articles and poems. Her father, Alfred Ahier Wickenden (1886-1972), after taking his degree in civil engineering at Columbia University, returned to Canada to become a specialist in land and forest management. He published volumes of poetry in French, which he had leamt as a child, as well as in English. Grace's mother, Helen Slack (1887-1975), a graduate of Wellesley College and the New York School of Fine and Applied Art, was a successful artist and art lecturer. As an author she earned some national recognition for her poetry.
Fate dealt Alfred and Helen's household hard blows. Of Grace's two brothers, the younger, Jackie, fell victim to illness while still in childhood; the elder. Buddy, serving with the United States army in Europe during the Second World War, was reported missing in action in December 1944. Tragically, Helen was never able to accept the reality of Buddy's loss. Grace was left as her parents' sole surviving child.
After attending McGill University for a year, she went on to complete her bachelor's degree at Middlebury College in Vermont in 1944. In the same year she married Keith Cranker, an industrial chemist. Of their three children, Glenn practises law in Montreal; Judy (MacPherson) teaches school in Vancouver; and Nancy is the proprietor of an antique shop in Norwood, Massachusetts. Grace is also survived by Glenn's children, Alice (Crow) and Robert Cranker, and Judy's children, Christopher and Matthew MacPherson.
Grace's first marriage was dissolved in 1974, when she returned to Montreal to help look after her mother. There she met, and in 1976 married, John H. E. Colby, to the deep and lasting happiness of them both.
One of Grace's great pleasures in life was her family's old secluded log cabin at Petit Lac Noir, which she continued to visit from Montreal and Knowlton as often as possible. She practised as well as appreciated art, attending classes in Montreal almost to the end; her many paintings capture vivid glimpses of the land and life around her. A succession of fortunate cats, each with a markedly individual personality, benefited from her enjoyment of feline company.
In 2001 Grace and John retired to "Sunnylea" in Knowlton, where she endowed the spacious, picturesque Victorian structure with her own special warm and welcoming character, while its garden flourished in-response- to her love of growing and arranging flowers.
Grace was notable for her buoyant humour, her artistic flair, and her lively intellectual and cultural interests. She combined with a temperament inclined to firm determination, a warmth of heart and generosity of spirit that brightened the lives of many. Her unfailing resilience in the face of adversity was complemented by an appreciation to the full of the good things life brought her way. Her memory will be cherished.
(memorial from family)
Colby, John Henry Ernest
OBITUARY JOHN HENRY ERNEST COLBY Peacefully on October 23, 2009 in Knowlton, Quebec in his ninety-third year. Predeceased by his wife Grace Wickenden. Survived by his loving daughters Jocelyn (J. P. St. Pierre) and Jennifer (Alec Holzgang), stepson Glenn Cranker (Maria), Judith Cranker MacPherson, and Nancy Cranker. Loving grandfather to Tracey Lessard (Matt), Ruth Stanton (Brad), Jeff St. Pierre (Leah) and Steven St. Pierre (Samantha); Brenda, Eric, Monica (Fernando), Rebecca, Laura and Philip Holzgang; Alice and Bobby Cranker, Chris and Matt MacPherson and many great-grandchildren and step great-grandchildren. John will be most fondly remembered by his first wife June, his special cousins, Charles, Robert (Gretchen) and Edward (Sara) Colby, Mary Aikins (Allen Slade) and his godson Michael Martin (Judy). John met his first wife June in Scotland while serving on loan with the Royal Navy during WWII. After the war he completed his law degree at McGill and practiced law at the firm which still bears his name, Colby Monet Demers Delage & Crevier. John served for many years on the Council of Trustees of Stanstead College as a director and chairman, created and helped fund a deserving student scholarship and worked tirelessly in fundraising campaigns, for which he received the Trustees Award of Merit. He also supported the Stanstead Historical Society and the Brome Lake Land Foundation. Many thanks to the kind and attentive staff at Manoir Lac Brome in Knowlton. Funeral will be held at 1 p.m. on Saturday, November 7, 2009 at the Centenary United Church, 479 Dufferin Street, Stanstead Quebec. In lieu of flowers, donations to the Stanstead Historical Society (the Colby-Curtis Museum, John's home where he was born), the Red & White Educational Foundation of Stanstead College or the BMP Foundation of the Brome Missisquoi Perkins Hospital would be greatly appreciated. Published in the Montreal Gazette on 10/28/2009
Known as "Slats" [Jean Wickenden]
Opera singer .. lived in Germany
130. Jocelyn* Anne (Lynn) Wickenden
OBITUARY LYNN WATSON (nee WICKENDEN) It is with love and sadness that we announce the death of Lynn - Jocelyn to her brother and sisters - on June 1, 2011. Born on May 25, 1928, Lynn was predeceased by her beloved son Dougie, and her sister Jean. She leaves her husband of 57 years, Jim, her cherished children, Ken (Pat), and Mary, her brother John (Bonnie), sisters Martha (Jim), Harriet (Roy), Alice, and many nieces, nephews, cousins and dear friends. Mum lived for her family, but she was also an unparalleled friend. With her irrepressible sense of fun, her love of laughter and music, her generosity and warmth, she made a difference to so many lives. We will all miss her. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, June 4, 2011 at 2 p.m. at St. John the Baptist Anglican Church, 233 Ste-Claire Avenue, Pointe Claire, followed by a reception at the church. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Lakeshore General Hospital Foundation ( http://www.lakeshorefoundation.ca/ ) or a charity of your choice. [Montreal Gazette and Ottawa Citizen, June 3 and 4, 2011]
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Lynn was born on May 25, 1928 to Jean (John) François Wickenden and Catherine (Annie) Eliza French and named Jocelyn Anne. She was the 2nd child in a family that eventually included 5 daughters (Jean, Jocelyn, Martha, Harriet and Alice) and one son (John). She grew up in Three Rivers in a house that she remembered and loved for the rest of her life.
After attending Stanstead College in the Eastern Townships, Lynn began teaching in Lachute, where she met a dashing young ex-RCAF pilot, James K. Watson. Married on September 19, 1953, they made their home in Hawkesbury, Ontario, and had three children: Ken (1954), Dougie (1956) and Mary (1961). Tragically, Dougie drowned in 1959.
In 1965, Jim was transferred to Montreal and the Watson family moved to Pointe Claire where Lynn made many lifelong friends. As music had always been a love in her life, she joined Sweet Adelines and sang bass with them for many years. Lynn also became a parishoner at St. John the Baptist Anglican Church and became very involved in many parish activities.
Early in 1959, Lynn and Jim bought a piece of property on Lac des Sucreries in the Laurentians. Going up to “Camp” became a family love. Summer and winter, many weekends and holidays were spent there over the ensuing decades, both as a family, and with many friends. For a long time, Mum did all the cooking on a woodstove – and turned out many fantastic meals that family and many friends remember fondly. They were very happy years.
By the early ‘80s, Ken and Mary had both left home, and life began to settle into a slightly altered pattern. Ken married Pat, and moved to the Yukon, and Mary moved to Edmonton, and then to Jasper. Mum began taking trips to see them – sometimes with Dad – sometimes on her own. When Ken and Pat moved first to Timmins and then to Elgin, Ontario, Mum didn’t have quite so far to go to see them, but then Mary moved to Victoria, and Mum started to spend a couple of winter months there. When Mary’s job took her to Ucluelet, on Vancouver Island’s west coast, Mum enjoyed a visit there too. She was never happier than with her children.
Latterly, as Mum’s health began to decline, she was unable to travel as she had. Ken made monthly trips from Elgin to see both parents, and Mary came home for extended trips at Christmas and in the summer. These visits were always a joy for Mum. Last fall, Mum moved into an assisted care home in Pointe Claire where she remained connected to family and her lifelong friends, but also found friends in her new community. It was a whole new lease of life for her, and her last months were very happy. On April 14th, taking ill, she went into the Lakeshore General Hospital. She rallied briefly, and we were able to enjoy further visits with her, and more laughs and stories. The window was brief however, and after a further decline, she died peacefully in the early hours of June 1st, 2011.