With sadness, May’s family announces that she passed away peacefully on October 31, 2014. May was predeceased by her husband Reginald (Rex) Embleton and her brothers Stan and Reg. May is survived by her loving family: daughters Sandi (Fred) Ivan and Trina (Edward) Soltys as well as grandchildren Natascha (Ryan) Jones and Kent (Candace) Soltys and great-granddaughters Brooklyn and Gabriella Jones; all of whom were precious to May. In addition, she is survived by a very special nephew Alan (Jen) Silvester in England and many other nieces and nephews in Britain and Canada as well as other places far and near.
May was born in Churt, Farnham, Surrey, England on May 20, 1921. May’s parents, Edith and Francis were both born in England and were employed by the Earl of Snowden as chauffeur and housekeeper, employment which eventually found a young May living in Jersey, one of the Channel Islands. Returning to England, May met and married her husband Rex, a young Canadian soldier from the Comox Valley in 1943. May immigrated to Canada as a War Bride in 1946, landing in Halifax and travelling by train to settle in Comox where she and her husband raised their two girls. Rex worked as a shipwright at the Goose Spit and May worked part-time at the Comox Post Office. Rex and May moved to Quadra Island in 1965, where they ‘homesteaded’ while building their own house on two acres close to the ferry. Rex at that time was working for MacMillan and Bloedel and May turned a raspberry patch into a ’cash’ crop, selling berries to the local grocery store. The home became a favourite place for grandchildren to play, climb trees and explore. May and Rex also welcomed travelers and hitchhikers who often became friends. Skilled in the domestic arts, May grew her own organic fruits and vegetables and was an exquisite seamstress, making sure her girls knew how to can, pickle, cook and sew. She also got up very early so that when all her chores were done there was plenty of time to spend an afternoon at the beach with her children. May created a very happy home and memories of a wonderful childhood will never be forgotten by her daughters and grandchildren.
May’s family wishes to express sincere thanks to the nurses and staff of Comox Valley Seniors’ Centre for the outstanding compassionate care she received over the past few years. You were also ‘family’ to May.
A funeral service will be held at 2 p.m. on Friday, November 21 at St. Peter’s Anglican Church, 228 S. Dogwood St, Campbell River, BC.