Christie MACINNIS
Date de naissance : 24 février 1927
Date de décès : 30 juin 2017
The sad death of our dear mother, Christie, occurred, June 30, 2017. Born in Big Pond on February 24, 1927, she was the only daughter of the late John Michael and Catherine (MacIntyre) MacIsaac. She was the last surviving member of her immediate family.
Christie nurtured a deep and unconditional love for her family. We will miss her dearly, her smile, grace, and zest for life. She was devoted to her church, her community, and her many friends.
Christie gave much and expected little in return. In her early life, she was an active contributor to the good will and neighbourly deeds of the community. She was gifted at community fundraising. Among the activities she actively supported were the 4-H, the old East Bay/Big Pond hockey league, the Home and School Association, New Horizons, the Big Pond Concert, and the Heart and Stroke Foundation. Participants in the annual Big Pond bird count would gather at her home for tea and lunch. For many, that visit to Christie’s was the highlight.
Christie instilled in her family an appreciation for the Gaelic tradition of Cape Breton, the language, the music, and the dancing, and she hosted many awesome music sessions. She was an excellent source of local genealogy and spoke of the early pioneers of the Glengary, Ben Eoin, St. Andrew’s Channel, and Big Pond areas with admiration. ”The old timers may have had very little,” she would say, “but they were happy.”
She was primarily a stay-at-home mom but worked for a brief period for the School Board and was an avid Avon representative.
In her senior years, she enjoyed travel to visit family but her kitchen remained the center, with a different pace. She began her day quietly in her rocking chair with a cup of tea and a round of rosary, catching the news and later, entertaining visits by family and friends. The telephone was her lifeline, however, especially with family to share in their good days and bad days.
Christie is survived by, John Willie (Darlene), Howie Center; Sheldon (Marlene), East Bay; Marie MacPhee (Malcie); Jean Murray (Simon), and Father George, all in Big Pond; Jamie, Halifax; Donald (Chantelle), Sydney River; Patricia MacInnis Hutchins (Kenny), Coxheath; Trese MacNeil (Jimmy), Windsor, Ontario, and Bernadette MacNeil (Johnny), Northside East Bay. Left to mourn also is her brother-in-law, Cyril (Lydia) MacInnis; Stanley (Verna) MacIsaac, and Frankie (Vina) MacIsaac, descendants of “Little” Dan MacIsaac – “the next farm over”; and Jack MacNeil of Big Pond, a lifelong family friend. Christie will also be missed by extended family, Heather Carr, Val Simpson, and Heather MacLeod.
She will be missed dearly by her grandchildren, Kevin, Colleen, Lindsay, Calum, Denise, John Robert, Amanda, Kimberley, Arron, Devon, Eireann, Connor, Kyla, Erin, Andrew, Ian, Christie Marie and Mae Irene; great grandchildren; great-great grandchildren, and several nieces and nephews.
Christie was predeceased by her husband, Dan Joe, a well-known Cape Breton Fiddler, and son, Phillip; four brothers, Michael (Eileen), John (Tessie), Danny Angus (Pearl /Terry), and Victor; sisters-in-law, Rita (Broley), Theresa (Arsenault) and Marjorie (Watson); two brothers-in-law, Billy and John Archie, and her mother and father-in-law, Danny Peter and Mary (Campbell) MacInnis.
Mom knew joy and she knew life’s challenges too. Through it all, she’d offer words of strength. Her humour, wisdom, and faith seemed to always prevail. She is at peace now and our loss is deep in prayer, yet filled with loving memories. “She stood the storm and when the force of the wind did not blow her away, she adjusted her sails.” (E. Edwards)
Funeral arrangements are to be announced at a later date.
