BRIDGER, Mary Vivian
Aug. 29, 1922 - Jun. 12, 2019 With profound sadness we announce that Mary passed away suddenly in her home on Wednesday afternoon, June 12th, 2019. Mary was predeceased by her beloved husband, Denis, and her sister, Rae Preston. She is survived by her three sons David (Betty), Keith (Morag), and Ian (Nikki), all of whom reside in British Columbia. Mary had eight grandchildren: Andrea, Bonnie, Nicole, Stephen, Michael, James, Emily, and Tom, as well as five great grandchildren: Sierra, Marin, June, Rhame, and Hunter. Mary is also survived by her nephews in Cornwall, England, Paul, Andrew, and Henry Preston and their families.
Mary was born in Cornwall, England, and at the age of 19 she joined the Women's Royal Air Force and served for five years. Mary met her future husband, Denis, while he was attending the Camborne School of Mines in Cornwall. They were married in Durban, South Africa, Denis' homeland, and then spent 3 ½ years in the Northern Rhodesian copperbelt. They emigrated to Noranda, Quebec in 1952, and remained with Noranda Mines Ltd in mining towns of northern Ontario and northern Quebec moving 23 times in 24 years. In 1969 Mary and Denis moved to London, England, where Denis worked for Consolidated Gold Fields. Son, Ian, joined them, and sons, David and Keith remained in Canada to attend university. In 1979 they returned to Canada with BP Selection Trust and while in Toronto, Mary volunteered at Princess Margaret Cancer Hospital in the wig boutique. After retirement, in 1989, Mary and Denis moved to Vancouver where son, David, already had a dental practice, and proceeded to have their dream home built in South Surrey, White Rock. Unfortunately, Denis died in 1991, and Mary continued to live in their lovely home until her own passing. Mary had many interests including her love of the game of bridge and her 'bridge club' continued to attend Mary's home until shortly before her death. She very much enjoyed being a member of the Vancouver Cornish Association, the Greater Vancouver Mining Women's Association and it's book club which continued to meet at Mary's home even in the last month before she died. Mary also belonged to the Vancouver Engineers Wives' Association, the South Surrey Garden Club, and the White Rock Hospice Society.
Mary had a great love of gardening and took great pleasure in picking and arranging flowers for her home from her beautiful back yard garden.
Mary was very fortunate to have been attended to by her long time loving and competent care givers, Melvie and Margie, and more recently Melanie and Rosel, all who provided excellent devoted service. Mary loved them and we thank them and their families for their years of devotion and compassion.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Peace Arch Hospice Society. A funeral service will be held from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM on 2019-06-20 at St Mark Anglican Church, 12953 20th Avenue, Surrey, BC, Canada.