Dorothy Pearl Flewelling
1916-2009
Dorothy P. Flewelling of Nackawic, NB passed away Tuesday evening,
March 10, 2009 at the Dr. Everett Chalmers Hospital. She was born in
Hawkshaw, NB on August 3, 1916 in a house located next to what is now
know as Sunset View Park. She was the first born of Harry and Edna
(Cronkhite) Quigg and was their only child for eight years until her
sister Hilda was born.
My mother’s life was divided almost equally into four parts. She was first a child and young woman for twenty five years before marrying my father, Fraser L. Flewelling in 1941. Then she was a stay-at-home wife and mother for twenty five years until the late 1960's. Following my father’s death she began work full time with me at the funeral home until the early 1990's, and then since that time she considered herself semi-retired but still interested in being at the office each day.
During each of these eras I think "devoted" would be the word to best describe her. Although I didn’t know her then, I know from what she and others told me that she was a good daughter and sister. She had a happy childhood in a home with loving parents. She dearly loved her sister. Aunt Hilda’s death occurred in 2005. She attended school in Hawkshaw and later at the Barony where she traveled by horse and wagon or sleigh with her friend Helen (Simmons) MacKay. When she was old enough, and with the help of her aunt and uncle, Margaret and Edgar Cronkhite, found work as a telephone operator at the office in Otis. Still living in Hawkshaw at this time, her means of transportation to and from work was by walking, a distance of perhaps two miles. I know that a portion of her earnings were given to her parents and gifts of clothing bought for her sister. She was devoted to being a daughter, sister, student and worker.
In 1941 Mum became a wife and in 1944, a mother. For the next quarter century she devoted her life to those two responsibilities. She was a typical wife and mother in Lower Southampton during that time, performing all of the duties that her peers performed. Wash day was Monday, cooking was done on Wednesday and Saturday, cleaning most every day, church and Sunday School on Sunday and hosting the ladies of the Pokiok United Baptist Church Guild every February. Mum and Dad did little traveling. With the exception of a couple of trips to United States to visit relatives, most of their time away was in connection with a convention or work related. Each Saturday evening though, weather permitting, would find them in Woodstock where they knew most every merchant. Mum didn’t work with Dad at the office in the service station that he operated, but supported him in each of the business ventures he embarked upon. She was devoted to being a wife to her husband and a mother to her child.
When Dad passed away suddenly in 1968 Mum was strong and in the weeks and months following, rarely was emotional when she was with us. Her work at the funeral home began when she would come to the preparation room to keep me company and talk in those first weeks following Dad’s death. Soon she knew what I would need next and for the next twenty years, it was rare that I would do an embalming alone. She always said that she "just sort of slid into the work." We spent countless hours working together, all times of the day and night. A few times we worked all night and then left for a funeral in the morning. She never got tired and usually drove on our way home from a removal at a home or hospital while I slept. She drove in all types of weather and only one time left the road. Mum had her drivers licence for seventy five years and was never stopped once by the police, even for a road check. Before the time of pagers and cell phones and Judy and I and the children would be away camping or visiting I knew the telephone was in good hands. Before she called to tell me that a death had occurred she would have thought out a plan to cover the situation. She was a devoted employee.
For the past twenty years she had been what you might consider "semi-retired." However, she still wanted to be responsible for depositing the funds we collected for charities and writing the cheques for them. She also recorded and invoiced all the flower orders, something that had been her responsibility since first beginning work at the funeral home. Often she arrived at the funeral home at 7:30 a.m. and locked the doors at the end of visiting hours. But most of all, during this period in her life she enjoyed meeting and visiting with old and new friends. Her chair in the office and making the tea and coffee in the funeral home kitchen gave her a great opportunity for this. Her trips to the shopping center provided another chance to see and talk with someone. And if you ever stopped to chat, carried her purchases to her car or just opened a door for her, we knew about it. She was a devoted friend.
Many times when we ask a family for something personal to include in an obituary, they will say he or she loved spending time with their family. That sentence is used often and you might think it is just copied from other obituaries, but in Mum’s case that is exactly what was important to her. She loved me, Judy, Mike, Rebecca and especially her two great grandsons, Bryden and Taylor. We spent lots of time together. We often said if we had to work on special days of the year and missed having a meal together, it didn’t matter because living so close together we could share meals any day of the week.
Having only one sister, one husband, one child, one daughter-in-law, two grandchildren and two great grandchildren, Mum’s birth family was small. But her family of friends was huge. And that became more evident to us in the past year since she has been ill. So many people have made a special effort to visit with her, call her, bring food or send cards with personal messages included in them, both when she was at home and during her times in hospital. She appreciated them so much. May she rest in peace.
She is survived by her daughter-in-law and son, Judy and Wendell Flewelling; her grandchildren, Mike and Rebecca Flewelling; her great grandsons, Bryden and Taylor Flewelling; several nieces, nephews and cousins.
She was pre-deceased by her mother on August 14, 1950, her father on March 10, 1959, her husband Fraser L. Flewelling on July 9, 1968 and her sister Hilda Townsley on October 5, 2005.
Visiting hours will be held at Flewelling Funeral Home, 585 Otis Drive, Nackawic on Thursday from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. Funeral service will be held at the Nackawic Baptist Church, 94 McNair Drive, Nackawic on Friday, March 13, 2009 at 2 p.m. with Rev. Paul Thompson, Rev. Carl and Evelyn Brewer officiating. Interment will be later at Otis Cemetery.
Pallbearers will be Clinton Conrad, Merlin Fox, John Maunder, Amos McDermott, Murray McEwen and Marcus Stairs.
For those who wish to make a donation in memory of our mother and grandmother, we suggest the Otis Cemetery or a charity of the donor’s choice.
My mother’s life was divided almost equally into four parts. She was first a child and young woman for twenty five years before marrying my father, Fraser L. Flewelling in 1941. Then she was a stay-at-home wife and mother for twenty five years until the late 1960's. Following my father’s death she began work full time with me at the funeral home until the early 1990's, and then since that time she considered herself semi-retired but still interested in being at the office each day.
During each of these eras I think "devoted" would be the word to best describe her. Although I didn’t know her then, I know from what she and others told me that she was a good daughter and sister. She had a happy childhood in a home with loving parents. She dearly loved her sister. Aunt Hilda’s death occurred in 2005. She attended school in Hawkshaw and later at the Barony where she traveled by horse and wagon or sleigh with her friend Helen (Simmons) MacKay. When she was old enough, and with the help of her aunt and uncle, Margaret and Edgar Cronkhite, found work as a telephone operator at the office in Otis. Still living in Hawkshaw at this time, her means of transportation to and from work was by walking, a distance of perhaps two miles. I know that a portion of her earnings were given to her parents and gifts of clothing bought for her sister. She was devoted to being a daughter, sister, student and worker.
In 1941 Mum became a wife and in 1944, a mother. For the next quarter century she devoted her life to those two responsibilities. She was a typical wife and mother in Lower Southampton during that time, performing all of the duties that her peers performed. Wash day was Monday, cooking was done on Wednesday and Saturday, cleaning most every day, church and Sunday School on Sunday and hosting the ladies of the Pokiok United Baptist Church Guild every February. Mum and Dad did little traveling. With the exception of a couple of trips to United States to visit relatives, most of their time away was in connection with a convention or work related. Each Saturday evening though, weather permitting, would find them in Woodstock where they knew most every merchant. Mum didn’t work with Dad at the office in the service station that he operated, but supported him in each of the business ventures he embarked upon. She was devoted to being a wife to her husband and a mother to her child.
When Dad passed away suddenly in 1968 Mum was strong and in the weeks and months following, rarely was emotional when she was with us. Her work at the funeral home began when she would come to the preparation room to keep me company and talk in those first weeks following Dad’s death. Soon she knew what I would need next and for the next twenty years, it was rare that I would do an embalming alone. She always said that she "just sort of slid into the work." We spent countless hours working together, all times of the day and night. A few times we worked all night and then left for a funeral in the morning. She never got tired and usually drove on our way home from a removal at a home or hospital while I slept. She drove in all types of weather and only one time left the road. Mum had her drivers licence for seventy five years and was never stopped once by the police, even for a road check. Before the time of pagers and cell phones and Judy and I and the children would be away camping or visiting I knew the telephone was in good hands. Before she called to tell me that a death had occurred she would have thought out a plan to cover the situation. She was a devoted employee.
For the past twenty years she had been what you might consider "semi-retired." However, she still wanted to be responsible for depositing the funds we collected for charities and writing the cheques for them. She also recorded and invoiced all the flower orders, something that had been her responsibility since first beginning work at the funeral home. Often she arrived at the funeral home at 7:30 a.m. and locked the doors at the end of visiting hours. But most of all, during this period in her life she enjoyed meeting and visiting with old and new friends. Her chair in the office and making the tea and coffee in the funeral home kitchen gave her a great opportunity for this. Her trips to the shopping center provided another chance to see and talk with someone. And if you ever stopped to chat, carried her purchases to her car or just opened a door for her, we knew about it. She was a devoted friend.
Many times when we ask a family for something personal to include in an obituary, they will say he or she loved spending time with their family. That sentence is used often and you might think it is just copied from other obituaries, but in Mum’s case that is exactly what was important to her. She loved me, Judy, Mike, Rebecca and especially her two great grandsons, Bryden and Taylor. We spent lots of time together. We often said if we had to work on special days of the year and missed having a meal together, it didn’t matter because living so close together we could share meals any day of the week.
Having only one sister, one husband, one child, one daughter-in-law, two grandchildren and two great grandchildren, Mum’s birth family was small. But her family of friends was huge. And that became more evident to us in the past year since she has been ill. So many people have made a special effort to visit with her, call her, bring food or send cards with personal messages included in them, both when she was at home and during her times in hospital. She appreciated them so much. May she rest in peace.
She is survived by her daughter-in-law and son, Judy and Wendell Flewelling; her grandchildren, Mike and Rebecca Flewelling; her great grandsons, Bryden and Taylor Flewelling; several nieces, nephews and cousins.
She was pre-deceased by her mother on August 14, 1950, her father on March 10, 1959, her husband Fraser L. Flewelling on July 9, 1968 and her sister Hilda Townsley on October 5, 2005.
Visiting hours will be held at Flewelling Funeral Home, 585 Otis Drive, Nackawic on Thursday from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. Funeral service will be held at the Nackawic Baptist Church, 94 McNair Drive, Nackawic on Friday, March 13, 2009 at 2 p.m. with Rev. Paul Thompson, Rev. Carl and Evelyn Brewer officiating. Interment will be later at Otis Cemetery.
Pallbearers will be Clinton Conrad, Merlin Fox, John Maunder, Amos McDermott, Murray McEwen and Marcus Stairs.
For those who wish to make a donation in memory of our mother and grandmother, we suggest the Otis Cemetery or a charity of the donor’s choice.
www.flewellingswan.com
Service Date
Sunday, March 15, 2009