Mabel Willemene Ethel Johnston (nee Brown)
Born January 7, 1911 to pioneers Sam and Ethel Brown, the fourth of 5 children. Her lifetime spanned an incredible array of experiences: she traveled to a one-room country school in a horse and buggy, studying by coal-oil lamp; she watched the 1918 Armistice celebrations through her bedroom window while she was quarantined with the Spanish influenza. Fast forward to 2005, when she traveled to Cal Polytechnic to attend the dedication of an engineering building named in honor of her nephew, and held a space satellite in her hands.
After completing 2 years of university, she worked as a lab technician atthe Seed Branch of the Dept of Agriculture. She married Rooney in 1940, farming with him until they retired to Mayne Island in 1975. She moved to Victoria in 1995, and continued to find many friends and activities in which she participated whole-heartedly until her last days.
The last of her generation, she was predeceased by Rooney; her brothers Ross and Weldon, sisters Dora Mikkelborg and Lorraine Hooge Crossman, and her son Sam. Remaining to carry on her legacy are daughter Ielean (Trevor), daughter-in-law Ann, and her beloved grandchildren Doug, Anastasia, Spiro,and Candi-Lynn, great-granddaughter Avery, as well as many nieces, nephews and their families around the world.
Mabel had a wide variety of interests all of her life. Her primary focus was her family, and her love for them all knew no bounds. She gave unstintingly of her time both to her church and the community. She was keenly interested in science, genealogy, nutrition and health. She had a
prodigious memory and delighted in sharing. She loved poetry, singing, and story-telling, and was a cracker-jack cribbage player.
Mabel died peacefully in the arms of her family on November 18, 2007, in Victoria, BC. She will be greatly missed by us all.
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