Winifred (Win) Naylor passed away at Piccadilly Care Centre on September 6, 2014 in her 98th year.
She is survived by her two children, Bill and Steve (Jan) and her two grandchildren, Stephanie (Stasia) and Scott (Tiffanie). She is predeceased by her three siblings (Pat, Kelly, and Phil) and her husband Bill.
Win was born in 1916 in Medicine Hat, Alberta. By the age of eighteen, she had attended Normal School and was out teaching in one-room school houses, a job she did for five years before moving back to her home town.
During WWII, the Commonwealth Air Training Programme sent British airmen to Canada to learn to fly the planes that would eventually win the Battle of Britain. It was a at a dance held in a hangar that she met Bill who was an airframe mechanic. They soon fell in love, but before they could get married, Bill was posted back to England for the duration of the war. In January of 1946, Win set out for England travelling across Canada by train and then by ship to England. The ship made its way up the Manchester ship canal before docking. Waiting for her was her beloved fiancé Bill who climbed up a rope ladder on to the deck where they embraced. They were married in May of that year.
Bill Jr. was born in 1947 and in 1948, sensing that opportunities were better in Canada, they returned to Medicine Hat where Steve was born in 1950. Bill Sr.’s jobs took the family to Nelson and later to Castlegar where Win went back to teaching in 1963. Steve went on to university to become a teacher as well. He returned to Castlegar to teach for two years, the first of which was Win’s final year before retiring.
After that, Win and Bill travelled, moved to Victoria, and when grandchildren made their appearance, moved to Salmon Arm where Steve had gone in 1975. They enjoyed their granchildren immensely and became settled Salmon Arm residents. Both very good ballroom dancers, Win and Bill attended many functions and organized the music for afternoon dances at the local seniors centre, the 109. When Bill died in 2002, Win stayed in her condo for a few years then moved to Landers’ Lodge and finally to Piccadilly Care. She was pleased to see her two grandchildren happily married. Win passed away peacefully in her sleep after a long and productive life.
The family would like to thank Dr. Malinowski and the staff of Shuswap Lake Hospital, Landers’ Lodge and Piccadilly Care for attending to Win’s needs so well. A celebration of Win’s life will take place later in the fall.