It’s with heavy hearts we announce the passing of Mary Esther in the early morning of September 23 with sisters B.J. and Cynthia at her side.

 

She is predeceased by her parents James and Edith Griffith (nee Ringer) and brothers-in-law Wayne Faulkner and David Beath. Survived by sisters Linda Benedictson (Randy), Betty Jane Stansel (Bob), Melanie Beath, Cynthia Faulkner, Nancy Griffith, and brother James (Cindy Lou), as well as several nieces and nephews in Winnipeg, Smiths Falls, Calgary and Toronto.

 

She was a very happy-go-lucky child with a beautiful smile that lasted her lifetime. She was fiercely independent. After graduating from Loyalist College Mary Esther headed to Calgary where she began a 40-year career in television, film, and theatre. She was a pioneer in the movie industry, a young woman sound technician in a field dominated by men. A motor vehicle accident ended her career as a boom operator, and she reinvented herself to become a scenic artist. She was tenacious and despite her struggles, she loved her work and had a successful career in both Calgary and Winnipeg.

 

She took a great deal of pride in a job well done and was pleased that she had worked on Legends of the Fall when it received an Oscar nomination for Best Sound.

 

ME was resourceful, creative, meticulous, curious and had an eye for detail. She was taught the art of beadwork by an Indigenous Elder and as a result many of her family enjoy wearing pieces she has made. She loved her nieces and nephews, flowers, her home, gardening, the Winnipeg Jets and Patrik Laine.

 

She was happiest outdoors…. in nature, the mountains of Alberta or the beaches in Manitoba.

 

If you wish to honour her memory, a random act of kindness or a donation to a small arts group such as Prairie Theatre Exchange would please her.

 

Mary Esther, you are loved and will be missed. Rest in Peace!