A beloved daughter, sister, wife, mother, auntie, grandmother, great-grandmother and friend.
Audrey was born on March 28, 1933 in Meaford, Ontario to her parents Cecelia and Fred (Charles) Bonnett and siblings Marge, Mervin, Leone, Velma, Winston and Dennis.
She was raised in Meaford, Ontario until the age of 16 when she moved to Vancouver and worked for BC Tel, and then for Woolworths as an accountant. She bought a little house in North Burnaby, when, in 1959 she met a Cowboy drifter with a 30-30 named Richie, a pair of gumboots and a suit. She was beautiful, fed him ham and the Maverick asked for her hand… she was great catch!
Laureen was born in Vancouver, and the small family moved to Stettler, Alberta where Mike was born. Soon after, they bought a property with a little house and barn at the base of Red Mountain. In 1967 Phil was born, and Audrey with young Laureen and Mike worked peeling logs for the new house. Heidi was born 1972 in Trail. In 1977 they bought and built up a cattle and vegetable farm in Grand Forks where she also worked as a Care Aid.
In 1987 they moved back to their house at Red Mountain where she resided for the rest of her days.
Audrey enjoyed nature and everything fun like swimming, hotsprings (Ainsworth), camping, berry picking, picnicking, growing her own food, hiking, skiing, playing piano, dancing, spending time with friends, family, playing bridge and a good bargain.
She was an accomplished pianist and taught her kids to love music. Audrey would tour with her husband and grandson to various fiddle camps across the country, but they always managed to go to the one held at Selkirk College every July. Audrey played piano for the Golden City Fiddlers and played many gigs around the area.
She was a fantastic cook. A smile would always break upon her face when friends and family come to visit and she could cook and entertain. Some of her experiments in cooking won her awards at fairs and contests, and has been published with Nabob and Rogers Golden Syrup.
Audrey was a volunteer for the Rossland Library and was a member of many clubs, including the Trail Horsemen Society, Blackjack Ski Club, Sons of Norway, Naturalist Society, Farm Women’s Network, and Rossland Seniors Society.
Keeping active was always at the forefront. Her Red Mountain lifestyle gave her the chance to teach her kids everything she enjoyed, from gardening and skiing to horseback riding and swimming. Taking advantage of any opportunity to bring a smile. She raced and won medals in cross country skiing and swimming during her life and into the Seniors Games.
Travel was always a past time, whether it was local or a far journey she was always prepared with a picnic basket of homemade goodies for all, and always found an interesting spot to eat it. She traveled the world to Germany, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Norway, and Great Britain. But the ones that really brought a smile was when it involved visiting her family and heading to Las Vegas and Reno with her sisters.
Audrey had the most wonderful sense of humour. She could tease and be teased back, and always liked a good laugh. One of her jokes was published in Readers Digest. One of her ways of getting a laugh was entering family member’s names into contests without telling them. Some even won.
Audrey, we will miss your humour, your smile and your gentle ways. Travel safe across the creek.
The Mann family would like to thank everyone for all the excellent care Audrey received by her doctors Gwenn Campbell, Marnie Jacobsen, her therapists Kelly and Cheryl, all of the Nurses and Staff at Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital, Rossland Royal Canadian Legion #14, the Ladies Auxillary, and all the generous support from all the friends and family for all the prayers, food, flowers and donations they have received.
As an expression of sympathy, donations may be made to the Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital Foundation, 1200 Hospital Bench Road, Trail, BC, V1R 4M1 or online at www.kbrhhealthfoundation.ca
You are invited to leave a personal message of condolence at the family’s online register at www.myalternatives.ca