Anne died peacefully at her home in Gibsons with family by her side.
She was born in Weymouth, England, daughter to Edith and William Swaffield and sister to Brian and Peter. In 1946 she married John Robert Stewart and moved to Canada, where they began a family in Ontario. There she had four daughters, and later the family moved to Montreal where her fifth daughter was born.
As a busy mother of five, Anne also found time to be very active with Girl Guides of Canada, leading and supervising many summer camps and travelling as leader of a group of teens to visit Norway. She also taught her own girls about camping, hiking, outdoor skills and canoeing. Later Anne completed a BA in English with Honours, and pursued a lifelong interest in woodworking. She was a skilled craftsperson and an excellent seamstress.
Anne moved to Vancouver with her husband and youngest daughter in 1980, worked in an office and had successful treatment for breast cancer. She then moved on her own to the Sunshine Coast, finding her home in Lower Gibsons. She explored the Coast with a Stats Canada job. After retiring, Anne volunteered on the Board of Variance, with the NDP, at Planned Parenthood, and with a Sechelt literacy group. Anne was a long term volunteer at St. Bartholomew’s Church. She also enjoyed gardening, reading, quilting, crocheting, bird watching and walking her dogs.
She bravely purchased a 23-foot sailboat in her early 60s and pursued a lifelong dream of learning to sail. She successfully maintained her boat and sailed to Lasqueti, Newcastle and Thormanby Islands as well as messing about near Gibsons.
Anne was cheerful, determined, resilient, strong, patient, kind, courageous, practical and endlessly polite. A feminist, she had a progressive liberal mind, a strong desire to be useful and independent, and a steady loving heart.
Anne was predeceased by Robert in 2002. She will be greatly missed by her daughters Jill, Wendy (Robert), Alison (Laval), Elizabeth and Robin (Marc), by her grandchildren Camil, Tim, Paul, Ronan, Conall and Niall, and also by her faithful companion Minnie-dog, as well as friends, neighbours and many lovely care providers of the past year.
A Celebration of Life service was held at St. Bartholomew’s church on December 27, 2014. In lieu of flowers, donations to Gibsons Wildlife Rehab Centre would be appreciated.