Eileen Mary Alldrick

Eileen Mary Alldrick (née Mellor) of Central Saanich passed away gently and peacefully at home on October 25, 2019 after a long, determined, and graceful struggle with dementia.  Eileen was predeceased by her mother and father, Ruth and Jack Mellor of Yorkshire. She is survived by her sister Margaret (Barrie), her loving husband Dani, and her son David.  Her travels through life were always spent in close company with an array of devoted pets.

Eileen was born in Rawtenstall, east Lancashire, England and spent her early childhood in the nearby village of Bacup. When she was 14, her family moved 25 km east, back to their ancestral home town of Brighouse (Bridge House), West Yorkshire, which she always considered home. Throughout her teen years, Eileen was an eager participant in the village Girl Guides and Anglican Young People’s Association club for teenagers.

Following school, Eileen began work at a local branch of Barclays Bank in her village and in 1967, she transferred to Barclays head office in London where she received much of her training.  Daytime lessons about managing money made little impression on a young woman living in the heart of swinging 1960s London, where Eileen “spent all my money on clothes”.   Eileen moved steadily up the ladder into junior management at Barclays, then took a job opportunity with Leasco, travelling across Europe to set up and manage computer time-sharing services. This ignited both her love for exotic destinations and an intense fear of flying.  By the mid-1970s, Eileen was the senior accountant for Hertz Rent-A-Car at their London headquarters, overseeing the accounts from all 26 branch offices throughout the U.K.

Eileen and Dani met at a dinner party in London in 1978, married in Brighouse in 1979, honeymooned on the French Riviera, and then set off on their new life together to Pine Point, a mining town in Canada`s Northwest Territories. This remote community lacked television service and consequently offered an unusually hectic social life since all entertainment was home-made.  In 1982, they took `early retirement´ and moved to Victoria B.C., settling into a home that overlooked the little ferry in Brentwood Bay.

Throughout her life, Eileen blessed many others with one great gift and one great passion. Her singular gift was an awareness and sensitivity for others when they felt adrift amid new surroundings.  Eileen could always find time to help ease them through these challenges, whether it was mastering tasks at work or helping newcomers settle into a new social group.

Eileen´s great passion was singing. Raised in a family of four that always sang together – notably during long holiday car journeys across the length and breadth of England – Eileen made the most of singing opportunities in her Yorkshire village, then boldly strode onto the theatre stage when she arrived in London.  By 1978, Eileen was rehearsing weekly and performing annually with three separate light operatic societies, with additional formal opera coaching each Saturday morning.  Arriving in Canada, Eileen quickly joined the local Sweet Adelines chorus with its challenging style of singing unaccompanied four-part harmony. Similar to her demanding singing schedule in England, she eventually sang with three of these Sweet Adelines groups simultaneously, while helping to coach and train younger members.  It was a pastime that kept our home filled with music and sequins.

Cremation has taken place.  A Celebration of Life will be held at 2:00 pm on Thursday, November 21, 2019 in the Sequoia Centre at McCall’s Gardens, 4665 Falaise Drive, Victoria, BC.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Alzheimer Society of British Columbia at https://alzheimer.ca/en/bc/Get-involved/Ways-to-donate or  202-Burnside Road West, Victoria, V8Z 1M1.

The family would like to especially thank Dr. A. Henri-Bhargava, Dr. M. Sherman, and Dr. R. Houston; the Peninsula Home Care team of nurses and therapists; and the team of skilled and thoughtful care-workers from Bayshore Home Health and SureWork Solutions.

Condolences may be offered to the family below.

McCall Gardens
www.mccallgardens.com