Obituary of Annabelle Marion Wright

August 26, 1932 – Brantford, Ontario

September 20, 2022 – Calgary, Alberta

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Annabelle (Ann), beloved wife, mother, and grandmother, on Tuesday, September 20, 2022, at the age of 90 years.

Ann is survived by her loving husband Frederick (Derick) of 60 years, son Brennan, daughter Laura Starosta (Lyle), and grandchildren Spencer and Clare. She is also mourned by her nieces and nephews in Ontario, Edmonton, and South Africa as well as relatives in Australia. Ann is predeceased by her sisters Dorothy Lambier (Royce), Marjorie Storey (John); and her brother Albert Waring (Jean).  She will be sorely missed. 

At Ann’s request, there will be a private service.  In lieu of flowers, the family asks that a donation be made to a charity of your choice. 

Condolences, memories, and photos may be shared and viewed here.

In living memory of Ann Wright, a tree will be planted in the Ann & Sandy Cross Conservation Area by McInnis & Holloway Funeral Homes, Chapel of the Bells, 2720 Centre Street North, Calgary, AB T2E 2V6, Telephone: 403-243-8200.

Eulogy

Annabelle Marion Wright

Today we are celebrating a life well lived. We are here to remember Annabelle or Ann or Mom or Granny Ann or Auntie Anna as she had many roles to many people. She was a woman that possessed great kindness, tremendous courage, a great sense of humor and a stubborn streak a mile long.

Ann was very fond of little kids, animals, flowers, Ontario in the fall, Downton Abby, arguing with Derick and of course chocolate.

We are humbled by the challenge of describing how much she meant to us and how proud we were to call her ours.

Let’s start at the beginning. Ann was born in Brantford Ontario in 1932. She was the youngest of four children and was raised by a single mom when her dad passed away soon after she was born. She quit school at the age of 15 to help support her family. Ann was a very smart woman with a mind for numbers and spent most of her working years doing various forms of accounting. In 1957 she ventured west to Calgary where she worked for General Motors. At a time when a lot of women didn't even drive, Ann purchased a brand new car straight off the assembly line.

In those early days in Calgary everyone went to Saturday night dances at Penley's where Ann meet a young Irish fellow named Derick. Derick saw the pretty brunette with the great legs and that was it for him. Not so much for Ann! She was hard to tie down and Derick had to work hard to make her his with numerous marriage proposals. Finally Ann said, "When you have $2000 dollars in your bank account I will marry you". Derick came through and in 1962 they were married...Imagine Ann's surprise when upon returning from their honeymoon the loan payments came!

She raised 2 kids and has remained their close friend throughout her life.

Things you may not know about Ann. She was an artist, she used to downhill ski and she has traveled the world. She saw the Berlin wall come down, she has been to Russia, Ireland, England, Scotland, Italy, Spain, France, Africa, Australia and many more places in Canada and around the world. Ann also always needed to be home before dark. It did not matter if the sun didn’t set until 10pm, at 6:30 Ann would say "let’s get going so we are home before dark".

Ann was always up for game night at family gatherings, she liked a good game of 5 in a row and wasn't above hand slapping if she thought you were out of turn. She was a reluctant trivial pursuit participant but at her 90th birthday she played her best game ever. Warm weather meant you would find Ann, in her lucky red cap, and Brennan out on the deck playing Yahtzee where their laughter and shouts brought smiles to the neighbors faces.

Ann had a sharp mind and a sharp tongue right up to the end. She made all the nurses laugh in the hospital when they were working on her oxygen levels and one nurse said "you’re at 90 and we want you at 94". Ann said, "Good God if this is 90 I will pass on 94!" Right up to the end she was putting her slippers on and heading home.

Mom we will always love you and we are going to miss you more than words can say. We know you will have gotten your slippers on and that you will have made it home before dark.