IN MEMORIAM

In Memoriam….
A life well lived deserves acknowledgement and celebration. Learning in Retirement welcomes
submission of obituaries of members of LiR, as written by family and friends. Pictures of our
deceased members are also welcome.
Donating to the Eldercare Scholarship in memory of a fellow member, a friend or a family
member is a meaningful way to honour their memory and support a Selkirk College Student
work towards achieving their education pursuits.
The link to donate is HERE.

Obituaries are being compiled and will be displayed here soon.

Gordon McGregor
Gordon was a Founding Member and first Treasurer of Learning in Retirement Nelson.  Born in Vancouver 1937 Gordon passed away on August 28th, 2021.  In his youth Gordon was an air force cadet who then joined the RCAF. At age twenty-eight he moved to BC Tel
remaining with the company until retirement. Married to Dianne in 1971 they had two children Stuart and Elizabeth.
Arriving in Nelson in 1981 Gordon began a remarkable 40-year involvement in community activities: Nelson Lions, Morning Mountain, Telephone Pioneers, Save Our Services,
Nelson Tramway, President of BC Metis Society, Learning in Retirement. He was Director of Communications for the 1989 BC Winter Games, and in 2012 received the Queen’s
Diamond Jubilee Medal.
Gordon was a family man always willing to help, quiet, never seeking attention, a good friend, a good listener.

Birthe Achtner by Patrick Quinn-Young
The first time I met Birthe Achner, she brought in a tray of coffee and muffins to Gerhard’s office in their lovely log house on Nelson’s north shore. Gerhard, her architect husband, had designed the house my family would soon construct in the Redfish area.
Birthe and I talked. In 1958 she had immigrated from Denmark to Vancouver where she worked in a medical field, before moving to the young Vancouver film industry. There she became a much  sought after costume designer before her family moved to Nelson in 1991. She described their decision to move to Nelson as the best one they ever made. True to her interests, she became actively involved in the Nelson community, including the SOS campaign to maintain services at Kootenay Lake Hospital, and the campaign to keep open the Civic Theatre. I learned she was
a member of MENSA, which explained the large number of books she had on every possible subject it seemed. She brought up the subject of starting a lifelong learning group in Nelson.  Sometime later, I was talking to my friend and neighbour Roger Oliver. He also suggested a local learning group based on U3A ( University of the Third Age – there is a U3A group in more than 1000 communities in the UK).
A few years later, the Nelson Daily News published a Letter to the Editor from Birthe seeking volunteers to work on the creation of a learning group for older people. Roger was the only person to respond. Birthe and Roger met, worked together and recruited a talented team which led LIR for the first two years under Birthe’s leadership.
After four preliminary meetings at the Vienna Cafe, (where I took the minutes), the first public meeting of 24 individuals was held in the basement of the Nelson Public Library. There, Learning in Retirement was born. Later, Birthe, ever creative and practical came up with the idea of an LIR scholarship for a student in the Elder Care Aide Program at Selkirk College. This was facilitated
later by the LiR Board and is awarded every year to a deserving student. Members of
LIR contribute to the fund on a regular basis. Now in memory of our founder, Birthe,
it is up to the members of LIR to keep it going.

Phyllis Dale
by Grace Devaux
From sitting on the first Board of Learning in Retirement to participating in the Zoom presentations during Covid, Phyllis Dale will be fondly remembered for her love of lifelong learning.  She immigrated from England, raised her family in Calgary, then settled in her lovely home just outside of Nelson. On May 16th, 2023 after ninety years of living she said her final goodbye.
On April 2019 Phyllis was bestowed an Honorary Lifetime Membership recognizing the ten years that she dedicated her services to Learning in Retirement. It was at the second meeting of
LIR that she stepped up, became a member of the first LIR Board and volunteered to work on the Program Committee. For five years she was responsible for bringing in various speakers mostly
centered around health for the Friday sessions. She also facilitated sessions on current affairs.
Roger Oliver and Judy Biggin who worked with Phyllis on programming in the early years of LIR had so much respect and admiration of Phyllis’s ability to quietly and calmly resolve issues, and sort out problems that arose in any discussion. Roger chuckles and says, “She helped me out of tight spots a few times.” Phyllis was highly respected by everyone. We were fortunate to have her wisdom and dedication to build a solid foundation for LIR.
The last five years she sat on the Communications Committee as editor for the Journal. “We were always happy to have Phyllis as our editor when we were working on the LiR newsletter. Her efficient, no nonsense approach to both deadlines and her craft made it so easy to work with her. Her sense of humor quiet but effective, kept us all in line!
(Jane Marks and Peter Bartl)

I was lucky to have worked with Phyllis when I chaired the Communications Committee from September 2015 to the ten year celebration in 2019. She served as an editor for fourteen
publications efficiently and effectively. Her contributions were thoughtful and always kept us directed to the vision of LIR. As I thumb through all the Journals produced, almost every issue
has an interesting article that Phyllis had submitted. She was an avid supporter of our involvement in the Senior’s Fair. We may all have great ideas but Phyllis followed through quietly. For example
I noticed that she had brought in a couple of residents from a senior’s facility so they could attend one of our Friday sessions. She was an inspiration, had a ready smile and will be dearly missed.”

Gloria Currie also remembers her friend
What can I tell you of Phyllis that comes in words? It was a 25 year in depth relationship, commonly called a friendship. Her outgoing personality and worldly accomplishments took second place to her spiritual journey. If she was right in her beliefs – and how we delved and argued – she is sitting on my sofa right now, attentive, as I struggle to describe her! She and I were only a year apart in age. In the last year we spoke of our readiness to “move on”.  She chose M.A.I.D. with friends and family attending. ” She never lost her dry humor. Her last words were, “See you soon, Gloria.” It took a moment for all of us to get it before we exploded into laughter.

Marjorie Laisnez
by Karen McDiarmid

The first thing you would notice about Marjorie was her lovely warm smile. She had a personality to match.  After retiring from nursing, Marjorie moved to Nelson to be near her daughter, adored grandchildren and grand-dog Kobe. She trained and worked as a nurse and loved reminiscing about her eight years working in Arviat, Nunavut.
She was excited to join LiR and before too long was a mainstay of the Social
Committee, later becoming the chair of that committee and a valued member of
the board of directors.
With her nursing background she was instrumental in the initial planning and implementation of the Safety Committee where she served for several years.
Being an adoptee was a great part of Marjorie’s life and she was delighted when she was able to meet her birth family. Growing up as an only child she truly valued her new found siblings and their families.
Marjorie enjoyed the Interest Groups and joined the book club, the knitters group, the walking group and enlivened them all with her warmth and wit.