GIBSON, Anna Mearns

It is with great sadness that the family of Anna Mearns Gibson (née MacRae) announces her peaceful passing at the Souris Hospital in Souris, Prince Edward Island on July 26, 2019. Anna and her twin brother Edwin were born in 1931 to parents Frederick and Annie (Boswall) MacRae and spent her formative years in East Royalty, PEI. After graduating from Prince of Wales College in 1949 with an Honours diploma in Home Economics, Anna then worked for Maritime Central Airways. There she would meet and marry her husband of fifty years, Lloyd Norman Gibson, an MCA pilot. Deeply family oriented, devotional, strong, independent and hard-working are only a few ways to describe Anna. She was a loving wife and mother, who instilled values of faith, honesty and hard work in her children. The generosity and caring she invested into her community inspired all who knew her; from starting the 1st Nicholsville Brownie Pack to volunteering in the Morell Public Library well into her eighties. Her complete devotion to the needs of her family did not prevent her from enjoying several hobbies which included gardening, travelling, quilting, baking and music; to name but a few. A passionate believer in the value of life-long learning, Anna returned to study languages in university, eventually becoming conversant in French during many summers spent with her husband and children on the French islands of St. Pierre et Miquelon. Although Anna approached all of her diverse interests with passion and expertise (her gardens, quilts and apple pies being the envy of many!) it was possibly music that engaged her creativity more than anything else. With conservatory-level training in piano performance, she became the organist for Morristown Baptist Church after moving to the Annapolis Valley with Lloyd in 1976. As well, to the delight and gratitude of numerous valley children and their parents, Anna provided after-school piano lessons (and treats!) for many years. Despite the strong bonds of community and friendship cultivated during her life in Nicholsville, she was, in her final years, very happy to return to her birth province and reside in the beautiful community of Morell, PEI with daughter Kathryn and her husband David. In addition to her aforementioned parents, she was predeceased by her husband Lloyd and her siblings Andrew, Kenneth, Jean, Harold, and Edwin. She will be deeply missed by her son Richard Gibson (Mona Chamberlain), daughters Kathryn Morris (David) and Carolyn Taylor (Greg), and grandchildren Claire Gibson (Scott Van Buskirk), Julia Gibson (Ryley Mennie), Stewart Morris (Colleen), Ian Morris (Xana), Emily Taylor and Hannah Taylor, and great-grandchildren Evan and Alexander Van Buskirk, Archie and Aurelia Men Gibsonnie and Savannah Morris; all of whom enjoyed a unique, individual and affectionate relationship with their Gram. Anna will also be greatly missed by her sister-in-law Dorothy MacRae and many nieces and nephews. Visitation will be held at the Dingwell Funeral Home, Souris, on Tuesday, July 30 from 4-7 pm. The funeral will be held at Morristown Baptist Church in Morristown, Nova Scotia on Wednesday, August 7 at 2:00 pm. Reception to follow. A private interment will take place on a later date at Floral Hills Cemetery, PEI. Donations in memory of Anna can be made to Morristown Baptist Church or Westies in Need (westiesinneed.ca) or the Palliative Care Room of the Souris Hospital. We would also like to give special thanks to the caregivers of Colville Manor for the truly exceptional kindness offered to Anna during the last eighteen months and also, to the health professionals at the Souris hospital for the extraordinary compassionate care given to her during her final days. Online condolences can be made at www.dingwellfh.ca.