Obituary of Agnes Duffy Mann

December 11, 1926 – Coatbridge, Airdrie Scotland 
August 28, 2021 – Calgary, Alberta

Agnes Mann passed away peacefully on the early morning of Saturday, August 28, 2021 at her residence, Cambridge Manor in Calgary, AB at the age of 94 years.

Agnes Duffy was the fourth child born to Thomas and Agnes McAleney on December 11, 1926 in Coatbridge, Airdrie Scotland, reportedly tipping the scales at a generous twelve pounds. Raised in a household bustling with seven brothers and two sisters, the family moved between various locations in Scotland and England before immigrating to Canada in the years following World War II. During the war she, along with other kids were sent to stay in the country to avoid the threat of aerial bombardment in the larger centres. Her stories of those times included food rationing, blackouts and being sent to bomb shelters during air raids. Agnes first settled in southern Ontario where she met Don Mann, a good friend of her brother Bill. The happy couple soon moved west and spent time in Calgary where Donald Gary was born and then to Dawson Creek where Leslie Janet added her voice. Fort Nelson welcomed Coleen Dawn and it was Dawson Creek once again for Patsy Lee and then back to Calgary where Sean Kerry was born. Following the untimely death of Don in 1957, her full-time attentions turned to raising her family in the rapidly growing Stampede city. Summers were spent trooping the brood by overnight Greyhound to be with her family in Fort St. John. As the family grew older, summer camps and vacations at Sylvan Lake were added as leisure activities. In those years, Agnes volunteered for the Catholic Women’s League as a member of the Sacred Heart parish, served as an adjudicator on the City of Calgary Rent Review Board and also found time to play tennis, ride horses and take in an occasional round of golf. After spending a number of years in the wartime-built house on 31st Avenue, she also called High River home for a time along with a number of places in Calgary. 

She is survived by her children, Gary, Janet, Coleen and Patsy; grandchildren, Erin, Brianna, Meghan, Aubrey, Haley, Chloe, Jennifer and Kristopher; great-grandchildren, Paytn, Lili, Addi, Isabelle, Alexandra, Justine, Etienne, Lukka, Zariah, Owen, Layton, Channing, Kory, and Sean; and her brothers, David, John and Wilfred,  as well as a host of nephews and nieces. 

She was predeceased by her husband Don; sons, Eric and Sean; sisters, Helen, Jean and Bernadette; and brothers Tom, Bill, Jimmy and Peter. 

A funeral mass will be celebrated at St. Bonaventure Catholic Church (1600 Acadia Drive SE, Calgary AB) on Monday, September 13, 2021 at 11:00 a.m. with a private family graveside to follow. Condolences, memories and photos can also be shared and viewed here.

In living memory of Agnes Mann, a tree will be planted in the Ann & Sandy Cross Conservation Area by McINNIS & HOLLOWAY FUNERAL HOMES, Fish Creek, 14441 Bannister Road SE, Calgary, AB T2X 3J3, Telephone: 403-256-9575.