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December 10, 1942 - September 15, 2021
Trail lost a special member of its community Wednesday, Sept 15th.
For the last 20 years, Ev Cross, the founding "Graffiti Granny", worked hard, with willing conscripts, to keep the city that she grew to love more beautiful. More currently she added roadside garbage pickup to her list to assist the award-winning Trail Community in Bloom efforts that she believed were so important for the city's image.
Her own large award-winning garden fit in well with those of her neighbours in Tadanac and kept her more than busy.
Ev was probably more visible to the public as the old lady who routinely rode her road bike from Tadanac up to Rossland on a weekly basis for the past 10 - 15 years. Her best year was 2018 with 53 ascents. She had started bike riding in her mid-60's to spend more time with her husband but soon became a passionate rider. She enjoyed every ride, from the Seattle to Portland 340 k two-day ride to all 9 Penticton Granfondos (ok - she only did the full 162 k once, the rest were 92k's).
Being tall and thin, Ev was not gifted with the ideal body for athletics but tackled many sports with enthusiasm and determination, qualities she brought to whatever she did. Basketball in her younger years, running, tennis, scuba diving and snorkeling, golf and cross-country skiing all gave her pleasure but downhill skiing was a passion. Her two boys, when "forced" at a young age to continue in the Nancy Green Racing program complained "If this is so good why don't you do it", she entered the Saturday Red Mountain adult racing program although she had only started skiing in her mid 20's. For Ev, the best downhill skiing was flat out, top to bottom without stopping.
Another passion of hers was home entertaining. She belonged to 2 dinner clubs and took great pleasure in setting a beautiful table, socializing with friends and family over a nice meal and trying new recipes and drinks.
Ev was born in Penticton on Dec 10, 1942 to Bob and Theda Symonds. There she attended school, taught swimming lessons, played on the basketball team and kept her younger brother Bob out of trouble. After she graduated, she went to nursing school at Royal Columbian Hospital. She became a caring and competent nurse spending her first working years in the Castlegar and Kimberley hospitals and later the Trail Hospital
Married for 55 happy years to Brent, her childhood friend, she lived in Trail for most of her adult life. There, they raised two boys whom she loved as only a mother can, Jason (Anne) and Eric (Victoria), who between them had 4 children (Robert, Katie, Shannon and Courtney), who delighted Ev on their frequent visits to Trail.
Ev loved to travel. She went on many trips with Brent, her brother Bob and his wife Dianne, and friends who were very grateful she had prepared a list of sites to see and things to do during the trip. From China, Europe, to Africa, there weren't many continents Ev hadn't visited. Days abroad were packed with activities, biking, trekking, and boating were high on her list.
Ev was not without her faults - 1. she believed that a road map could be better understood by rotating it top to bottom which did not help her already limited navigational skills, or 2. that a room would get colder faster if the thermostat was set to the very minimum or 3. little did she realize that the standard for home landscape and garden tidiness that she set was well beyond the comprehension of most men.
All who knew her will miss her energy, her determination, her enthusiasm, and zest for life. She left us all far too quickly but assured us she was leaving us with no regrets, that she had had a most happy life.
It's been a good ride.
You are invited to leave a personal message of condolence by visiting the family's register at www.myalternatives.ca


Alternatives Funeral and Cremation Services


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