REDFORD, Ethel
After a difficult period of declining health, Ethel slipped away on the morning of December 6, 2007. Born in Vancouver in 1918 to parents John and Violet Armstrong, Ethel spent her childhood in Vancouver, Berkeley, California, and at Surge Narrows, BC, where she met and married her husband, Harold Redford, who predeceased her in 1995. In their early years together, Harold and Ethel lived in their float house at Surge Narrows, Chonat Bay, Rock Bay, and Kelsey Bay. In 1958, they moved to Campbell River and, in 1960, built the family home on the beach at Oyster Bay, where they lived until moving back into Campbell River in 1989. Quiet and unassuming, Ethel possessed a keen intelligence evident in her poetic flair with language and music, her profound understanding of the natural world, and her deep faith in the divine intelligence behind the mysteries of the universe. Ethel’s quiet wisdom made her an inspired, intuitive gardener, a cook whose understanding of nutrition was years ahead of her time, and, most of all, a wonderful, loving partner and parent. Her presence was a blessing in the lives of all who knew her.
Ethel is survived by her three children Joan Luoma (Bruce), Ray Redford (Andre), and Jim Redford (Wendy); by three grandchildren, Julie Douglas (John), Todd Luoma (Erica), and Mark Redford; by one great grandchild, Finn Luoma; and by a brother, Owen Armstrong (Irene) and his family. Ethel also leaves her brother-in-law, Walter Redford (Donna) and his family, two lifelong friends, Camille Glover and Myrtle Bird, and many friends in congregations of Jehovah’s Witnesses—particularly Len and Dorothy Froome.
A memorial service for Ethel was held at the Campbell River Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses on Tuesday, December 11 with a reception afterwards at the home at Oyster Bay.
Ethel’s family wishes to express their gratitude to the staff of Yucalta Lodge for the kind and professional care that they provided for Ethel at the end of her life.