Obituaries
Vivian Marie MAXWELL (nee Mitchener)
Volume 30 Issue 1, 2 & 3 | Posted: April 5, 2016
Vivian died of cancer on February 8, 2016 in Victoria, BC in the presence of loving family members. Already, we miss her.
Vivian is survived by her five children: Anne (Victoria); Mary (Bill Robertson), Saskatoon; James (Marjory Porter), Victoria; Kathleen, Victoria; Greg (Carrie Holmquist), Saskatoon; eight grandchildren: Josh and Kate Pendleton; Maxwell Brandel; Kristin, Melissa, and Adam Maxwel; Emily and Michael Maxwell; and four great-grandchildren: Charlotte, Adelaide, Nora and Jonas. Vivian also is survived by her two siblings, Eileen Schillinger (Toronto) and Cecil Mitchener (Saskatoon); and by her Kluysken “children” of Holland.
Vivian was predeceased by her husband Grant, sons Thomas John and Christopher, and daughter Christine, as well as her brother Hugh Mitchener, and her parents Leo and Rose Mitchener.
Vivian died of cancer on February 8, 2016 in Victoria, BC in the presence of loving family members. Already, we miss her.
Vivian is survived by her five children: Anne (Victoria); Mary (Bill Robertson), Saskatoon; James (Marjory Porter), Victoria; Kathleen, Victoria; Greg (Carrie Holmquist), Saskatoon; eight grandchildren: Josh and Kate Pendleton; Maxwell Brandel; Kristin, Melissa, and Adam Maxwel; Emily and Michael Maxwell; and four great-grandchildren: Charlotte, Adelaide, Nora and Jonas. Vivian also is survived by her two siblings, Eileen Schillinger (Toronto) and Cecil Mitchener (Saskatoon); and by her Kluysken “children” of Holland.
Vivian was predeceased by her husband Grant, sons Thomas John and Christopher, and daughter Christine, as well as her brother Hugh Mitchener, and her parents Leo and Rose Mitchener.
Vivian was born in Yorkton, Saskatchewan. Later her family moved to a farm near Sutherland just outside of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. She grew up during the Depression and Dirty 30s and WWII.
From 1945 to 1947 Vivian attended the University of Saskatchewan (”U of S”). She was captain of the women’s university basketball team, and she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts.
Vivian met her husband Grant at a wiener roast at St. Thomas More College, U of S. Vivian and Grant were married in 1947. They had eight children, with their first child born in 1948, and their last child born in 1963. They raised their family in Saskatoon.
Vivian had a strong moral and social conscience, and she was active religiously and politically in pursuit of social justice. In the 1960s Vivian and Grant were involved with the Christian Family Movement and were the Canadian lay delegates to the Catholic International Lay Congress. In the early 1970s Vivian and Grant were Canadian representatives to the International Pontifical Commission for Justice and Peace in Rome where they met with Pope Paul VI.
In 1969 Vivian and Grant and their family moved to Ottawa, Ontario, where Vivian worked as a social worker with underprivileged families. In 1981 Vivian and Grant moved to Toronto, Ontario. In 1986 Vivian and Grant moved to Victoria, BC to be closer to their children who resided in Western Canada.
Vivian was intelligent, curious and open-minded, and she enjoyed intellectual discourse about many topics including politics, religion and literature. She was artistic, and created many paintings and sculptures. She was a dynamic woman who loved life and she continues to inspire us.
The celebration of Vivian’s life was held at St. Joseph’s Friary in Victoria, BC on February 26, 2016.