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Maxine Phinney

PHINNEY, MAXINE ELIZABETH (WRIGHT)
Maxine Phinney of Fredericton, aged 88, slipped peacefully into Eternity surrounded by her family, on November 5, 2015, at the Dr. Everett Chalmers Regional Hospital. Maxine was the beloved wife of Joe MacIntosh (deceased 1957) and Vince Phinney (deceased 1979).
She is survived by her daughter Heather Brown (Malcolm, Calgary), sons Lane MacIntosh (Fredericton), and Sean Phinney (Alison Howells, Fredericton), grandsons Matthew Brown (Heidi Hoechstetter, Calgary); Andrew Brown (Meghan O’Neil, Calgary); Cameron MacIntosh (United Kingdom), granddaughter Katherine MacIntosh (Matthew Strimas-Mackey, Vancouver), great-grandson Henrik Brown (Henry) as well as several nieces, nephews and cousins.
Born and raised in Andover, New Brunswick, Maxine enjoyed life to the fullest. After graduating from Acadia University in the late 1940s, she moved to Toronto to study classical music (opera and piano) at the University of Toronto’s Royal Conservatory of Music, graduating with an ARCT (Associate of the Royal Conservatory of Toronto) designation. She was a classmate of Glenn Gould and a close friend of the acclaimed Canadian opera singer, Lois Marshall. Maxine’s musical talent led her to sing opera in London, where she studied with the famous English baritone, Roy Henderson.
Maxine, or Max, as everyone called her, loved people and places and exercised her independent spirit and wanderlust, by travelling throughout Europe. On the ship to England in 1950, she met Joe MacIntosh, a professional hockey player from northern Ontario who was on his way to London to play for the Wembley Lions in the British Hockey League. In 1952, Joe and Maxine were married in Andover, N.B.
Through the years, Maxine lived in many places including Wolfville, N.S.; Toronto, Ont; London, England; Sudbury, Ont.; Houston, B.C. and Fredericton. After Joe’s tragic death in 1957, Maxine spent summers at her Pointe-du-Chêne cottage in Shediac. She loved walking along Parlee Beach, eating lobster with friends and watching the tide roll in and out. In 1963, she married Vincent Phinney of Truro, Nova Scotia.
Music was a constant in Maxine’s life. She worked as a music teacher in schools in both British Columbia and New Brunswick, and continued to teach privately until just a few years ago. She was a joy to be around and always generous to her many friends and family. Even as a young child, she had a thirst for knowledge and a desire to get the most out of life. One of her passions was painting. It was joked that if you stayed still long enough, Maxine would paint you. In her later years, she loved playing her beloved scrabble, knitting for her family — keeping them well supplied with hats and mittens — and recounting stories from her interesting life, including being introduced to Mr. and Mrs. Henry Ford when she was just four years old. “I sat on Henry Ford’s lap, and I still remember Mrs. Ford’s string of pearls, just like it was yesterday,” she used to say.
Her family has always been proud of her many accomplishments and will dearly miss her. She was an inspiration and believed that life was to be experienced and enjoyed.
Many thanks to her homecare worker, Suzanne Bourque, and to the wonderful staff on 4SE at the Chalmers Hospital for their kindness and professionalism.
Maxine requested that there be no visitation or funeral, and specifically asked that those who knew and loved her raise a glass in celebration of life.
A celebration of her life will be held in the spring. Condolences and memories may be forwarded to bishops@nb.aibn.com

 

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