1928
Sylvia
2018
Sylvia Mary Chatfield
June 25, 1928 — August 18, 2018
Born in Maidstone, Kent on June 25
th
, 1928 Sylvia passed away peacefully in Victoria, B.C. on August 18, 2018. We mourn the death of our beautiful Mum, Nana, Mother-in-law and friend. She leaves behind her daughters Jennifer Brewerton (Andrew) and Suzanne Ashwell (Steve) and grandchildren Katie, Sarah, Zoe, James and Maxine, as well as family in England and California. Sylvia celebrated her 90
th
birthday earlier this summer and we are grateful to have had the opportunity to gather together with family and friends for that occasion.
Sylvia enjoyed a happy childhood with her sisters Anne and Rosemary and parents Herbert and Marjorie Harvey. She attended Whitelands College in London, graduating in 1948. After teaching in Birmingham for a few years, she set forth on a grand adventure to be an exchange teacher in San Francisco California in 1954. There she met her future husband, Kenneth, and they were married in England in 1956. Returning to the US, Sylvia and Ken made a good life for themselves in Mill Valley, California and were delighted by the births of their two daughters during this time. In 1967 the family emigrated to Victoria where Sylvia picked up the thread of her teaching career. She quickly found employment as a kindergarten teacher at Margaret Jenkins School. Over the next 21 years she taught at Gordon Head, Campus View and Macaulay schools, as well as earning her Bachelor of Education from UVic in 1977. Through her teaching career, Sylvia touched the lives of hundreds of young children guiding their transition to school and giving them the confidence they needed to move into Grade 1. Her kindness and patience eased many nervous parents' minds as they dropped off their children for their first school experience. She retired from teaching in 1988.
In retirement, Sylvia and Ken moved to Qualicum Beach where there were ample opportunities for volunteering and Sylvia quickly connected with the Society of Organized Services, Well Baby clinics and the Community Police Department. They were avid entertainers, enjoying bridge games and outings with many good friends from the local Newcomers Group. Visits from the grandchildren were especially welcome and Sylvia always had a game or craft for the children to do from her Tickle Trunk. A lifelong supporter of opera and the theatre, Sylvia made a point of taking her daughters and later her grandchildren to performances. She was an avid and prolific reader and her ability to complete a cryptic crossword is legendary.
A huge thank you to the staff at Selkirk Seniors Village (Victoria) and Stanford Place Care Campus (Parksville) for their kindness and care of our dear Mum. A celebration of Sylvia's life will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Canadian Red Cross or the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research.
Sylvia enjoyed a happy childhood with her sisters Anne and Rosemary and parents Herbert and Marjorie Harvey. She attended Whitelands College in London, graduating in 1948. After teaching in Birmingham for a few years, she set forth on a grand adventure to be an exchange teacher in San Francisco California in 1954. There she met her future husband, Kenneth, and they were married in England in 1956. Returning to the US, Sylvia and Ken made a good life for themselves in Mill Valley, California and were delighted by the births of their two daughters during this time. In 1967 the family emigrated to Victoria where Sylvia picked up the thread of her teaching career. She quickly found employment as a kindergarten teacher at Margaret Jenkins School. Over the next 21 years she taught at Gordon Head, Campus View and Macaulay schools, as well as earning her Bachelor of Education from UVic in 1977. Through her teaching career, Sylvia touched the lives of hundreds of young children guiding their transition to school and giving them the confidence they needed to move into Grade 1. Her kindness and patience eased many nervous parents' minds as they dropped off their children for their first school experience. She retired from teaching in 1988.
In retirement, Sylvia and Ken moved to Qualicum Beach where there were ample opportunities for volunteering and Sylvia quickly connected with the Society of Organized Services, Well Baby clinics and the Community Police Department. They were avid entertainers, enjoying bridge games and outings with many good friends from the local Newcomers Group. Visits from the grandchildren were especially welcome and Sylvia always had a game or craft for the children to do from her Tickle Trunk. A lifelong supporter of opera and the theatre, Sylvia made a point of taking her daughters and later her grandchildren to performances. She was an avid and prolific reader and her ability to complete a cryptic crossword is legendary.
A huge thank you to the staff at Selkirk Seniors Village (Victoria) and Stanford Place Care Campus (Parksville) for their kindness and care of our dear Mum. A celebration of Sylvia's life will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Canadian Red Cross or the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research.
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Sylvia Mary Chatfield, please visit our flower store.
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