On Sunday, Nov. 20 at 1:20 p.m., Patricia Ellen Rose Elliott (née McBride) died peacefully  at St. Boniface Hospital Palliative Care in Winnipeg, MB. In prior weeks, she had declared "I've had a good life", and she kept her sense of humour to the end.

 

Pat is survived by her husband Jack Arnold Elliott, by her sons Thomas Roland (Jennifer Lynn Powley) and Ian Patrick (Lisa Leanne Borowski), and by her granddaughters Aoife Odette and Ayda Quinn Elliott.

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Born Feb. 11, 1944 in Gladstone, Manitoba as the only child of Caroline and Roy McBride, Pat was a sensitive and determined child. Growing up on the farm, she enjoyed 4-H Club, her dog Boots, movies and Elvis.

 

After graduating from William Morton Collegiate, she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Manitoba. In 1966, she married Jack Arnold Elliott, the man she had her eyes on for years and who would remain her devoted and loving companion throughout her life. They settled in Winnipeg, and Pat completed a further Bachelor of Education degree in 1969.

 

In late 1971, she took time from teaching Junior High History and French to raise their sons Tom and Ian. A supportive and pragmatic mother, she had not intended to return to the classroom, but as the boys were growing, she tested the waters for a brief time as a staff trainer at Eaton's, and then as an Educational Assistant. In 1987, after several years as a educational publisher's representative and a volunteer usher at Manitoba Theatre Centre, she returned again to school as a resource teacher in the White Horse Plains School Division, which she would continue for thirteen years.

 

Pat was known to be gracious, dedicated and kind. She kept from the spotlight, and those close to her knew her to be empathetic and introverted. She followed Canadian politics, read, crocheted, tended garden, appreciated travel when she could, and loved visiting with friends and family most of all.

 

Pat and Jack had a fulfilling / rewarding life together for more than 20 years after retirement, settling and resettling with the seasons between the condominium in Winnipeg, the cottage at East Blue Lake and the shared condominium in Parksville, BC, away from the cold and snow of Manitoba with the gentle rain of BC winter, walks and visits.

 

She loved being "Nana" to granddaughters Aoife and Ayda, reading, baking and gardening with them. When Pat was in the hospital with complications of Essential Thrombocythemia, Aoife and Ayda appeared one day as superheroes, prepared to confront Nana's blood dragon with a whirlwind of enthusiasm and love.

 

We'll always miss her. Her resolute character endures not only in the dispositions of her sons and granddaughters, but in the impressions of family and friends that have been stirred and sustained by her company.

 

Thank you to the staff of St. Boniface Hospital Cancer Care and Palliative Care Service for all your work making Pat's life as straightforward and comfortable as it could be.

 

A Celebration of Life is being planned for a later date.

 

In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation in Pat's name to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation of Canada. or to Harvest Manitoba.