Ethel Eliza Agnes (Wishart) Keating passed away in Shuswap Lake General Hospital, Salmon Arm, B.C. on Tuesday, April 12, 2016 at the age of ninety-six years.
Ethel Keating was born in Trehern, Manitoba on June 29, 1919 on a sunny Sunday afternoon to Dora and Robert Wishart. We honor her today with some words she left some years ago about her journey of life, and the adventure that it was, sometimes good and sometimes not so good but it was always interesting.
At a young age this wonderful woman had a love for gardening. Filled with pleasure planting the flowers in her garden and would often times share stories of memories doing this with her mother. It was always pleasure along with sewing and writing family history. She also had a heartfelt joy of going to church, the sense of family and community that came along with the act of song and prayer was a very important part of her life. Often she would join the church choir.
Ethel was given her first camera at the age of sixteen and with this started her lifelong love of cameras and photography, even learning how to develop her own photos. She was stopped from developing and printing her own pictures upon rising allergies to the developing chemicals. At this point in her life while continuing her love of photography, she also added another art to her creative portfolio. She had started painting with oil paints, that would end up hanging on walls across the country including Mexico. Leaving behind a legacy of her pictures for others to enjoy.
At the age of seventy-six years old she had decided to take up music, piano being her first choice. She kept up with the instrument until her sight failed in which then she picked up love for the harmonica. Though due to her passion of learning the piano it gave her the opportunity to meet a long lost niece who had started off as her music teacher. To this day, Mildred Lybeck, is a great once lost miracle in Ethel’s life. This had also given the rest of Ethel’s family the chance to learn patience, giving them hours and hours of listening to her creative musical skills.
This lovely woman predeceased by her husband of forty-six years, Roy C. Keating; sisters, Marge Newman and Jean Roberts; brothers, Laurence (Myrtle), Bill, Ted (Joyce), Vincent (Violet) and Lloyd-Jim (Sandy) Wishart. She now leaves behind, her loving and dedicated family, son Kelly (Beloved daughter-in-law Ferne) and their children, Naomi (Ron) Michaud, Spencer (Robyn Fraser) Keating; daughter Eliz-sha and her three daughters, Danielle (Mike Phelps), Genevieve and Emmanuelle Dessureault as well as three great grandchildren Mack Keating, Fisher and Autumn Phelps. Locally she says goodbye to Mildred (Garry) and their children; many nieces, nephews and friends including a wonderful friend of sixty-seven years Maire Spelay, and the caring staff at Mt. Ida Mews where she’d been living for that last three and a half years. A very special thank you for Doctor Mike Skubiak, for the compassionate care to Ethel and family.
The funeral service with a celebration of life tribute will be held from the chapel of Bowers Funeral Home, Salmon Arm on Friday morning, April 22nd at 11 a.m. with a reception following in the Mountainside Room at Bowers. Arrangements are in the care of Bowers Funeral Home and Crematorium; Salmon Arm. Condolences can be sent online to Ethel’s obituary at: www.bowersfuneralservice.com