Rawding, Elizabeth “Betty” Marguerite, 90, of Liverpool, Queens County, passed away peacefully Thursday, May 6th, 2010, in The Queens General Hospital, Liverpool, surrounded by her family.
Born March 3rd, 1920 in Melvern Square, Annapolis County, she was the daughter of the late William and Nellie (Morse) Spurr.
Following high school Betty graduated from Nova Scotia Teachers College and taught home economics in Shelburne. Betty and Merrill were married in 1943 and resided in Liverpool from that date. Betty was an avid golfer and curler and served as President of the local clubs and both provincial organizations. She was the founding President of the Atlantic Seniors Ladies Golf Association. She was a member of Zion United Church, a life-long member of the Liberal Party and a member of a wide variety of community organizations where she served in various capacities.
She is survived by her sons Tom (Mardi), of Chester, John (Susan), of New Glasgow, Peter (Cindy), of Antigonish; daughter-in-law Joan (George), of Bridgewater; grandchildren Kimberlea, Matthew (Cassandra), Sara Jane (Michael), Amanda, Bill, Mike, Katie and great-grandchild Cameron.
She was predeceased by her husband Merrill; son David; grandson Jeffrey and brothers Cameron and Lawrence.
Cremation has taken place under the direction of Chandlers Funeral Home, Liverpool. A Memorial Service will be held Sunday, May 9th, 2010, at 2:30 p.m., from Zion United Church, Liverpool. Reverend Joanne McFadden officiating. Burial will be in the Zion United Church Cemetery, College Street, Liverpool at a later date. Family flowers only. Donations may be made to the Zion United Church, Liverpool, VON Queens County Branch or to a charity of choice. The family would like to thank Dr Tim Woodford and the staff at Queens General Hospital for their wonderful help and support Online condolences may be made at www.chandlersfuneral.com
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Amy Lawson
I was saddened but not surprised when Betty Jean told me of Betty`s passing. She had borne her illness very bravely and has been a remarkably lady as long as I have known her…which is practically all my life. The Rawdings have been as much a part of Summerville as the Hupmans, in the summer at least. It is the passing of an era.
Sincerely,
Amy Lawson
Robert and Sally Fader
Tom, Mardi and family:
So surprised when I looked at the computer and found out that your Mum had passed away. She was a great lady – always enjoyed chatting with her when I saw her in Church. I understand she was enjoying her new apartment in town. Our thoughts and prayers are with you at this sad time.
Murray & Myrna Wigglesworth
Our very sincerest condolences to the Family. Your Mother always had a smile for us, as kids, even when we getting into some mischief (most of the time). Our thoughts and prayers will be with you during these difficult times.
A Verge
To the Rawding family. Sorry to hear of your mothers passing. I so enjoyed visiting her at the cottage in Summerville over the years. She will be at peace by your fathers side one more time.
stephanie Miller
One of the things I missed most about leaving WP was not seeing “the ladies” each morning. Mrs Rawding was a true gem! Thoughts be with you…
Deb and Chuck Sponagle-Taylor
Tom,John ,Peter and families. our heart achs for your loss.
Your Mom was a great Lady , Mother ,Grandmother as well as a Dear friend. No finer person could one meet.
Please find strength in knowing so many people care and are heartbroken with this news and are thinking of you at this very sad time.
We are all here for you .
We will treasure all those wonderful memories with this wonderful person.
karen Crouse
To Tom,John, Peter and families;
My deepest condoleances to you and your families at the passing of your Mom, Betty was a true lady, always gracious and friendly. I enjoyed working with her at UCW functions, and our little chats when I worked in the office across the street from their home in Liverpool.
My thoughts and prayers are with you at this time.
Pat Cochrane
Tom, John, Peter and families. I was so sorry to hear about dear Betty, also sorry that I won’t be able to attend the service. My family are meeting in Chester for Mother’s Day at noon, and there would not be enough time for me to get to Liverpool by 2. However, I will be thinking of you all, and will be in touch later.
Pat
Heather Rafuse-Anthony
Dear Tom and Mardi,
Thinking of you at this time.
Shirley & Paul shot
Tom, John, Peter and families: Our thoughts are with you all at this sad time. Betty was a beautiful lady and I know she will be missed. God Bless.
Joe & Monica White
John, Susan and Family: Our sincere condolences on the loss of your dear Mom. We hope that the love & support of family and friends will help you through this sad time. God Bless!
Nancy Cross
Tom, John, Peter and family,
We loved Aunt Betty and we will so miss her. Our prayers and thoughts are with you at this time. Wish we could be with you tomorrow.
Love to you all,
Hal and Nancy Cross and family
Psalm 91 (Auntie’s beloved Psalm)
Fred Trainor
Tommy and Family;
My condolences on the passing of your Mom and Grandmother. I have many fond memories of the kindness of your Mom and Dad, often at the cabin in Summervile, when I was a youngster, hanging out with Dave. All my best wishes.
Freddie Trainor.
Tom & Betsy Luttmann
Dear Rawding family. I was sorry to hear about the passing of Aunt Betty. She was a dear lady and I wish I could have seen her more often. Our thoughts and prayers are with you all.
Tom, Betsy and the boys
Walter and Sherri Miller
Tom/Mardi and all the family,we were sorry to hear of your Mom’s passing.Our condolences to everyone,Betty certainly was a great lady and one that will not be forgotten.
John Sylvester and Dianne Knox
To Peter, John, Tom and families,
We were saddened to hear of Betty’s passing. We always looked forward to our visits with Betty during our stay at Stumble Inn. She was a wonderful lady and a pleasure to spend time with, enjoying conversation and the sunset view from her living room. It feels like the end of an era in Summerville Beach. She will be missed.
With best wishes, John, Dianne and family
Audrie and Henry Wasylasko
Tom, Mardi and family:
Audrie and I were saddened by the news of your mothers passing, our sincerest condolences to you and your family. We are sorry that conditions will not allow us to be with you on Sunday, our thoughts and prayers are with you.
Audrie and Henry
Margaret & Don Cutcliffe
Tom, Sara Jane & Familly
We were saddened to learn of your Mother’s (Grandmother’s) death. By all accounts she lived a long and wonderful life, her contributions to sport and her community noteworthy.
Our thoughts are with you at this sad time.
Marg & Don
Audrey Croft-Spencer
I just want to forward my heartfelt sympathies to the whole Radwing family. I spend one summer if I remember correctly is was the summer of ’53 with you boys at the cottage at Summerville Beach. Again my Deepest Sympathy. Audrey
Anne Bowers
Tom, John & Peter
My Dad told me about your mothers passing yesterday. I want you to know that you will be in my thoughts tomorrow as you bid farwell to your Mum. She was a great lady.
I feel very blessed that I get to have Mother’s Day with my Mum.
Prayers for all of you.
Anne
Joyce Parks
So Sorry To Hear Of Your Moms Passing.She Was A Wonderful Lady.And I Will Miss My Visits With Her.
Elbert, Heddie, and Pember Edwards
Our condolences to the family!! Our prayers are with you all!!
anne sylvester
Tom, John, Peter and families
Please accept our deepest sympathy in the loss of your dear mother, Betty. We have been so blessed to be cottage neighbours for these many years.
Our thoughts will be with you tomorrow.
Marilyn (Inness) Sylvester
Anne Sylvester, Dave, Jaime and Michael
Edna Karn & Beth LaRocque
My mother and I were very sorry to hear of mother’s passing. She was a great lady. mom will miss her . They lived at the same place.
Ron and Judy Waters(Lohnes)
Our sincere condolences to all your family. Your Mom was always ready with a smile and a friendly greeting, and I (Judy) have very fond childhood memories of your Mom. Our thoughts and prayers are with you.
Barbara Clark & Bernie Doherty
Our sincerest condolences to members of the Rawding Family. We are members of the Atlantic Senior Ladies Golf Assn, and knew Betty in that capacity. She was a great Lady and a fun person to spend time with. We will miss her at our Annual Gatherings.
From: Barb Clark & Bernie Doherty
Angela Roy
Dear John, Peter, Tom and Families,
Please accept my sincere condolences on the passing of this life of your beautiful, graceful Lady, your mother Betty. It was a gift to know her, and one I will truly be greatful for. I am sending apologies that I will not be able to attend her funeral due to illness.
Thinking of you all,
Sincerely Angela
Donald Maclean and Darlene Stevens
John, Susan and family
Very sorry to here of your Mom’s passing. Even though it was inevitable, you are never ready.
Derek and Alison Wells
Alison and I were sorry to hear the sad news of your mother’s passing.She certainly was an accomplished lady and she will be missed. She was always very supportive of me in my political endeavors and I will remember her for that. I am so sorry we will not be able to come to the service but we will be thinking of you .
Barb and Frances Moreton
Tom, Peter, John and family,
Our sincere condolences on Betty’s passing. Always a vibrant woman with a keen zest for life. She will be greatly missed.
Fran and Barb
john bain
so sorry to hear of your mothers passing, my prayers are with you at this time .. i can remember growing up , she would worry about me as a guarding angel and try to keep me in a straight line
Donnie Scott
Tommy & Mardi, John & Susan and Peter & Cindy and families;
Wendy Wickwire just notified me of your beloved Mom’s passing.
I remain quite surprised as she was in such good spirits and health when I stopped by a couple of years ago while down for the LRHS reunion. I had also stopped in to see her and your Dad in ’91 when I had my kids down to show them a bit of Liverpool and Summerville. My timing was not too good that day though, as the big golf tournament was on TV and they were into the final holes!
She was almost the the last of the Mom’s (I think Marg and Eloise are the only ones left now) who looked over us and protected us kids who chummed around together – especially those of us who were in the infamous X-gang as 11 and 12 year olds. In know she had a heavy heart when Dave passed away at a young age. It is not an easy thing to lose a child when you are still so healthy and vibrant.
Our Mom’s shared a lot together with the UCW, the Curling Club, music festivals etc. for many years. They were both so energetic; such pillars in the community and gave so much to their community asking nothing in return. They set such good examples for all of us.
I’m sure you gave her a wonderful send off today. While there were tears of sadness, I hope they were outnumbered by tears of happiness as you recalled the care she bestowed upon each of you and the wonderful memories you will carry with you all the days of your life.
Thinking of each of you.
Donnie Scott, Victoria, BC
Wendy Wickwire
Dear Tommy, John and Peter….
I felt such pangs of deep sadness when I heard yesterday (from Joan in Wolfville) that your mother had died. She was so much a part of our lives. I have not seen her for a while. But I do have a good last memory. I was in NS visiting Joan and Gerry. I was with our son Patrick and we stopped by the Summerville cottage and found your parents both at home. They were so pleased to see us and we were thrilled to see them. Your father was laughing about the new chair he had inherited from my grandfather, because it could automatically lift him to his feet just by pushing a button. The chair seemed to be making its way around the town. Anyway, we all reminisced about the good old days when we were kids. Patrick had his fiddle with him so of course your parents insisted that he pull it out and play a tune. So he did. Well, they loved that and we loved their response. Music was so much a part of your family scene. It was infectious and it may be the reason that we kids ended up so committed to singsongs and playing by ear. I still know (and play at singsongs) your parents’ old favourites.
Anyway, it is too bad we live so far from NS. It was my dream to get back there to visit your mother and a few other staple “mothers” from my childhood. These were mothers who made lasting imprints.
You must feel a huge void.
My thoughts are with you.
Love and hugs (and do look us up if any of you are remotely close to Victoria).
Wendy
Jim Wickwire
To the Rawding boys Tom, John and Peter. No one will remember your mother and your family more than me. My three girls grew up with the Four Rawding boys next door to each other. Betty will be missed as was your Dad.
Regards Jim W.
SueAnn Wickwire
Peter and John
I have a picture you four Rawding boys on my book shelf to this day in my office. It is a very special picture. Your family was a big part of the Wickwire household as our houses and families were in such close proximity. We essentially lived in each others back yards for about 10 years.
Your mom ran a very tight ship. I have visions of her root cellar as I am now a gardener. I have much respect for her. She looks beautiful in the picture on the website.
Wish I could have been closer to have had more contact with all of you.
SueAnn
SueAnn Wickwire
Linda (Wefer) Wentzell
Dear Rawding family,
I was so saddened to hear of the passing of your dear mother. I have so many fond memories of her from my youth.
We, as neighbourhood children, always played on your street, shooting basketballs into the hoop that hung over the garage door. I can remember your mom always being there to make sure we behaved.
I too, like many others, visited your mom at the cottage in 2005. She was so happy to see me. At that time she was anxiously awaiting a visit from Tom
She will be greatly missed in the community.
Our deepest sympathy to all.
Joanie [MacIntosh] and Ron Pink
Dear Tom, John and Peter, We were so saddened to hear of your Mom’s passing. We so enjoyed our morning chats as she went by our cottage for her daily walk up the beach. We will miss her and hope to see you all at some point this summer. Please knock on our door if you are passing by. Would love to have a visit after all these years! Our thoughts are with you at this very sad time. Your mother had a wonderful life her enthusiasm was infectious, and hopefully we will all see our 90th year. Take care of yourselves .
Anne Risley
I was so sorry to read of your Mother’s death last week
I knew her for many years through the Seniors golf association, I also was a founding member.
[ she was afew months older than I am, which I never let her forget]
I only saw her once a year at White Point, but we had such fun together and Miriam Penney and I always went to her house to visit and have a good gossip.
Her sense of humour was one of her many assets and we had many belly laughs describing our bad shots!.
When I think of her it will be with a big grin on my face, which is no bad way ti be remembered.
With deepest sympathy to you all
Anne Risley
Joan Cameron Ray
When I was a child I would always look forward to Merrill and Betty’s visits to RI. Betty and Mother would shop and Dad and his Cousin Merril would talk until the ladies got home. I know they were special times for my parents and for our whole family.
I took a trip a few years ago to see them and had just a wonderful time. Merrill playing the piano and Betty going out with my friend and I for lunch and yes, shopping.
Betty had the most positive outlook on life. She loved her “boys” and her grandchildren and of course Merrill.I can still hear her laughter.
We will all miss her but know that she had a good life and lived it until the end. My thoughts are with you all,
Joan
Sandi Simpson
I just saw that Betty has passed away. I swam with Betty at White Point for about 2 years and she was a total joy to be with. Always lively, interesting and a very kind, gentle lady. I know she will be greatly missed by her family and all the ladies.
Sandi Simpson
Mickey Nelson
So sorry about Betty’s passing. We have a lot of fond memories of Betty and Merril, when they spent the winters in the Gardens of Beacon Square, New Port Richey, FL
Fred Giffin
To all of the members of the Rawding family, my sincere condolences. I have always admired both of your parents/grandparents and Betty was certainly one of Margaret Anne’s favourite acquaintances. Betty’s birthplace in Melvern Square was just a few miles from my home in Victoria Vale.
May your wonderful memories help you through this difficult time.
Hugh Allan
i know that this message is long over due but I can’t pass it up- to let you fellows know how attached i feel to you. From the time Merrill and Betty, with Marj and Lloyd , travelled to California, by car and back and left all us kids at home all alone while they tripped the light fantastic with out any sense of responsibility. I really have never forgiven them.
But before that to watch the old western movies in your front room. Were they talkies? I can’t remember! That was before TV even.
Of course Cameron and David had another relationship after I left Liverpool but I reconnected with Dave on the Bluenose II, when he met Joan and I married Lyn. How ever the world turns.
I used to enjoy visiting your mom and dad and my mom always had to touch base with them. Merrill and I had a running quiz game to name the horses of all the old western stars, like Roy Rogers , Hopalong Cassidy (and even older Tom Mix). Well he really was shocked when I found out what Hank Snow’s horse was named- Shawnessy. well I think that that really floored him.
The last time I saw your mom was down at Fort Point and I was very pleased that she was so comfortable there and so proud of you all.
I will miss not having a chat with her this year and remeniscing about those recent times and catching up with you all. I guess I will just have to make a point of seeing Peter every summer at
the kilted church service.
Best wishes to you all.
Hugh Allan
P.S.
This almost as good an epistle as Donnie’s