Obituary for Phyllis Soles (November 26, 1925 - March 6, 2020
Phyllis Soles passed away peacefully at home on March 6, surrounded by her loving family.
Phyllis was born in Halifax, November 26, 1925. A true Maritimer, Phyllis and brothers Bill and Charles spent countless summers at Marion Bridge, Cape Breton Island which held a special place in her heart.
During World War II, Phyllis met a Navy sailor, Colin Soles. They married and spent fifty-three years together, raising three boys, Ken, Ian and Lorne.
Colin’s job with BC Hydro took them to Prince George and Vancouver Island before settling in VanAnda. Texada Island was rough and tumble in the 1960’s; Phyllis committed to only staying five years. Five years turned into fifty-four. She became involved in community life, becoming an ambulance attendant and First Aider.
Phyllis believed in volunteerism and even in her ninth decade she was active with the Police Commission, Restorative Justice Committee, United Church Women, Chamber of Commerce, Kids Saving Earth Camps and the Terry Fox Run, to mention a few. Her most cherished commitment was as Brown Owl for the Texada Brownies. For decades she led girls on the island and organized endless summer camps. During her Brownie days, she discovered her love of crafts, becoming designated as ‘Crafty’. Family members cherish what she lovingly created.
Throughout her life, Phyllis treasured her relationship with brother Bill and sister-in-law Marge; forming an enduring bond with her nieces Layne, Sande, and nephew Scott.
Phyllis’ home was a safe haven to her son’s friends and she became a surrogate Mom to many.
In addition to welcoming young people to their table, Phyllis warmly received Colin’s mother, Florence, into their home for twenty-three years.
Phyllis loved road trips; most notably camping across Canada as a 1967 centennial project. As retirees, Phyllis and Colin enjoyed winters in Arizona while traveling to events for their grandchildren, great nieces and nephews. Phyllis’s love of kinship and adventure continued after Colin passed away in 2001. Her 90 th birthday was marked by a two-week family trip to Scotland where she danced at a Ceilidh.
Phyllis’s later years found her walking her dog B.B., contributing to her community, and visiting with her extensive clan.
Phyllis was predeceased by her parents, brothers, and beloved husband Colin. She leaves to mourn her sons Ken (Karen), Ian (Katie) and Lorne (Julie) and her grandchildren, Derek, Erin and Natasha, nieces Layne (Ross) Sande (Mike), and nephew Scott (Maria) and their families, as well as her close friend, Linda. The family thanks Dr. Kevin Black for his compassionate care during Phyllis’s final hours.
A memorial service will be held April 18, 2020 at 1:00pm at the United Church in VanAnda, tea to follow at the Legion.

(Unfortunately this service had to be postponed due to COVID-19 pandemic.)

Ann Carlson was a strong leader.  She was a woman of great faith – both in God and in her own God-given abilities.  She was a teacher, an educator, a professional woman when that was not such an easy thing to be.  She travelled extensively, was always willing to learn something new, never married and had no children. 
          Our Ann did not let anyone else define her.  And yet, she had a large extended family, to which she was devoted – nursing the sick, nurturing the troubled youth, and providing shelter for the struggling members of her family.
          Ann Carlson served this church, mostly as the Chair of the Board, for nearly forty years. She raised money for this church, she baked for the UCW bake sales and she put on an apron and worked all such events.  She found preachers and ministers to serve here on Texada, and persuaded others to serve on the Board.
          When I expressed an interest in serving as a lay minister, she didn’t laugh at my complete ignorance of how that process worked, but rather she looked me up and down with those sharply penetrating  eyes and said, “Well – let’s see what you can do.”
          She gave me a chance – and more importantly, she encouraged and supported me to explore my calling.  And quite frankly, she terrified me!  She was abrupt, self-confident, and had a firm grip on the leadership of this congregation.
          Our parables this morning, stories Jesus told his followers about the qualities of a good leader, those stories were ones I am sure Ann Carlson took to heart.  She cared about the members of this little flock, this faith family, and she was acutely aware  and practised faithful stewardship of the financial realities and resources of this church.
          She was a good and faithful servant, and we are told died peacefully and without fear.  Rest in peace, our beloved Ann, in the arms of the God who loves you.
 
Hymn #436 VU “Abide with Me”
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We remember:  Henry (Maury) Liebich
July 10, 2018 – Texada Island United Church
 
Piano Prelude (pianist Maureen Northrop) - Gathering
Welcome:  Minister Karen May, DLM
 
Scripture:  “Jesus said, I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die.”  John 11: 25-26
Hymn #266 VU “Amazing Grace”
Let us pray:
Loving God, Creator of all that is, who loves us with an everlasting love and can turn the shadow of death into the light of a new day: help us now to wait upon you with trusting hearts, that as we hear the words  of eternal life, we may have hope, and be lifted above our present darkness and distress into the light and peace of your presence, through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.
The 23rd Psalm
Reflection
Prayers of Thanksgiving and Intercession
The Lord’s Prayer (unison):  Our father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.  Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.  Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.  Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, and the power and the glory. Forever and ever. Amen.
Eulogy:  Kelly Liebich

​Funeral Service:  Henry Maurice Liebich
Welcome family and friends to this time of remembering:  we remember a dear husband, a father, a grandfather, a brother, a friend. We remember a dearly loved member of this congregation. We all remember, and we mourn our loss.
And we remember that Jesus said in the gospel of John chapter 11, verses 25-26: “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die.”
Maury was a faithful follower of Jesus.  These words meant something to him.
Hymn #266 VU “Amazing Grace”
Let us pray:
Loving God, Creator of all that is, who loves us with an everlasting love and can turn the shadow of death into the light of a new day: help us now to wait upon you with trusting hearts, that as we hear the words of eternal life, we may have hope, and be lifted above our present darkness and distress into the light and peace of your presence, through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.
 
The 23rd Psalm (Read)
Reflection:  Karen May
“The Lord is my Shepherd, I’ll not want…”  In his own quiet, unassuming way, I believe Maury lived his life by these words.  I’m sure there were times when he had doubts, but his spiritual guidance was never very far away, and he forged ahead, always striving to do the right thing, to live in love, not in hatred or resentment.
          I never heard Maury say a harsh word about anyone.  He was a gentle giant of a man. Beloved husband, cherished father, caring family member and good and loyal friend.  We are all going to miss him.
“You prepare a table before me…you anoint my head with oil”  Be comforted, friends, for Maury does not disappear into oblivion.  Something better has been prepared for him – there will be a new adventure – and we are called now – painful as that is – to release him to whatever comes next.
“and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord”   We do not- cannot – know what comes next.  Like the caterpillar that lives its life munching its way around our gardens, and then spins a cocoon.  It enters the darkness – and essentially then, it dies to life as a caterpillar.  It does not know what comes next – but unlike us – it does not question, does not worry about it – it just does what it is called to do.  In that darkness something magical and mysterious happens.  The fat little grub is transformed!  Everything about it becomes new!  It emerges from the cocoon months later as a beautiful butterfly!  A completely new life form has been created!
“my whole life long” There is the suggestion in these words of the promise of eternal life.  This life, lived as faithful husband and father is not all there is.  Some say this is a school, where we learn the lessons of how to “live right” and to “die right” – a place where we grow spiritually (rather than physically like the caterpillar!) to prepare ourselves for what God will call us to next.
Our beloved Henry Maurice Liebich was called to be exactly what he became – a loving member of the human race who did his best to live according to his beliefs and his principles – the guidance he received thru his life from church, Jesus, Spirit and experience. He has entered the “cocoon” stage and who knows what beauty, and happiness, and adventure lies ahead! 
But like the butterfly released from the cocoon, he has not gone far. He is still with us, our love for him is still present for him, as his love for us is still with us.  We have a little plaque on the wall in the meeting room that says:  “Death ends a life; not a relationship.”
Maury told Irene that he wanted to go out “with all the bells and whistles”!  Somehow he knew that this should be a celebration not a time of lament. For “surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life” and he will be held safely, as we all will, in the arms of our loving God.
Prayers of Thanksgiving and Intercession  p.273 in Service Book
The Lord’s Prayer (unison)
The Eulogy – Kelly Liebich
Hymn #333 “Love Divine, All Loves Excelling”
Yes, Maury, it is time for us to let you go.  We who love you so much release you now into the loving embrace of your God.
Blessing:  May the peace of God which surpasses all understanding, the love of God which washes away all our pain and grief, and the guidance of the Holy Spirit which lights our way, be with you always – for we are all beloved children of a loving and patient God. Go now in peace.
Please know that you are welcome to join us at the graveside for a brief service of committal.
 
 
Family members:  Wife Irene.  Daughters Susan Savarella and Kathy Dwight.  Sons Michael, Tim, Kelly Liebich.
Pall Bearers:  Mike, Tim, Kelly Liebich, Kathy & Dwight Bailey, Sue Savarella

A Meditation of Candles – Memorial Service for Brian Oudot – May 28, 2016
 
There is a mysterious power that animates every living thing, a Mysterious power that sustains what we call Life.  We do not know where we come from when we are born. We do not know where we go to when we die.  But we do know the life we live between the two eternities of being born and having to die.
 
Between these two eternities is our world – our life.
 
Some of us call the Source of Life, this Mysterious Power, God.  Some of us prefer another name:
Eternal Being, or Creative Force, or Spirit of Life, or perhaps simply, Love. Some of us do not know what to call this Mysterious Power, for all names seem somehow inadequate.
 
Yet we feel this Mysterious Power at the center of our unique beings. We experience it thru the changes of our individual lives. We see and sense it at work in the life and in the changes of every other living thing.
 
Like a flame passing from candle to candle, this Mysterious Power passes from being to being and from generation to generation.  This Mysterious Power is the Unity of the whole of creation – past, present, and future.
 
There is a Mysterious Power that animates every living thing, a Mysterious Power that sustains Life thru the unending cycle of the generations.
 
In honour of this Mysterious Power we might call God or Holy Mystery, we light a candle.
 
Candle of Memory (Light Life candle)
From this first candle we light a candle in memory of Brian’s life.  Let this flame symbolize all human life as well as Life.  It is a fragile flame, and it can be extinguished by the vagaries of a gust of air – one of the guises of fate.  But even if fate does not end a life unexpectedly, the burning flame will eventually consume the candle.  A candle has its allotted span to burn. (So a human life has its allotted span of years to live.)  Yet while it burns – for a short span or a long span of time – it radiates light and heat.  And flame kindles flame; life begets life.  The glow and heat, the passion of life, are passed on; so long after the candle is extinguished or consumed, the fire of life and love still burns.  A human life also continues in the lives it has both engendered and influenced.
Stare at the flame, then look away or close your eyes. As the eye remembers the light, so the mind remembers a person who has died.
 
Though the flame of Brian’s life has been extinguished, our memory’s eye still sees the person; and our mind remembers the power of his personality – how Brian walked thru his time and world; how his life touched each of us and shaped our lives.
 
In remembrance and in honour of Brian Oudot, we shall light our other candles in this memorial service from the candle we have lighted for him.
Candle of Community  (light candle)
We light this candle to signify the community we create.
It is good to be together as such a time as this.  We need one another in our grief and in our love. The deep loss of death and the accompanying emotion of grief are best comforted by our fellow women and men.  Friendly faces, kindly touches, warm embraces, halting words, or no words at all convey shared feelings or empathy.
 
We also seek together a meaning in which all things are comprehended.  Death has a strange way of sorting out the essentials of life and living, and we see clearly, though thru our tears, what really matters.  Family and the extended family that includes friends are things that really matter.
 
It is good, right, and fitting in the face of death that we have come together today:
            -to remember the person that Brian was
            -to mourn his death while honouring his life
            -to seek a meaning in which all things are comprehended
            -to find each other to receive comfort, and to give comfort as each is able.
 
Candle of Grief (light a candle)
We light this candle to acknowledge those who loved Brian the most, and feel his death most strongly. 
We pray that you receive the healing gifts of courage, wisdom, and thanksgiving: courage to accept the reality of Brian’s death; wisdom to understand that life and death, joy and sorrow are joined; and thanksgiving to honour the life that was Brian’s journey.
 
Candle of Joy (light candle)
We light this candle to signify that our joy and our sorrow are one.  We cannot deny the grief that death brings.  We must let it spill from our hearts.  We must let our sorrow have its time, because our joy has had its time.
It is because we knew and loved Brian, that we feel such sorrow for his death.  Our joy came first. Because of the joy, we feel such sorrow now. Though that sorrow is strongest just now, there will be a new day, when once again we will know joy, and we will remember Brian with joy.
 
Candle for the Mystery of Life and Death (light candle)
We light this candle to honour the mystery of Life. William Shakespeare wrote:  “We are such stuff as dreams are made of, and our life is rounded with a sleep.”  In awe and wonder our thoughts leap from understanding to understanding about a human life and the double mystery of where we come from when we are born, and where we go when we die.
This is the time to take a deep breath, close your eyes, and find the quiet center within you.
This is the time:      -to gather our individual feelings and thoughts
                                    -to reflect on the meaning of this occasion
                                    -to offer a private and final farewell
                                    -to offer a prayer
                                    -to remember the person: the child, the youth, the man, that Brian was, and to acknowledge how he lives on in us.
We enter a short time of silent reflection.
 
Eulogy
Family Remembrances (light a tea candle)
 
Candle of Thanksgiving  (light a candle)
We light this candle in Thanksgiving.
We are thankful for the gifts of Life even tho our individual lives are “rounded by a sleep”.
We are grateful for Brian’s life, for his gifts of life, and for the ways he has touched or influenced us.
We are thankful that time lessens and memories heal the grief we all feel at death, bringing ever deeper understandings and a more loving acceptance of the one who has died.
We are thankful for the comfort we give one another, which has grown among us this hour.
We are thankful that Life continues, passing from generation to generation.
We are thankful for the love that never dies. We believe it is true that “Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.” (1 Corinthians 13:7)
 
Candle of Love  (light candle)
And so we light a final candle for Love:
            -the love we have for Life and it Mysterious but Sure Source, which many of us name God.
            -the love that Brian had for his family and friends
            -the love we have for Brian
            -the love that has brought us together today.
In the spirit of this love we say our “goodbye” to Brian, to Dad, to Poppa, to our brother, our friend.
 
Closing Words and Benediction
Please rise as you are able so we may stand together as we conclude this service of remembrance and celebration for the life of Brian Oudot.
 
Extinguish Brian candle only.

Memorial Service for Flo Willes – Feb. 13, 2016
 
Welcome & Call to Worship
 
“Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.”  Matthew 11:28
 
Hymn p.747 VU Psalm 23 “The Lord’s My Shepherd”
 
Opening Prayer                                                     (William Kervin)
O God, Creator of all life,
help us to accept death as part of life,
trusting in your goodness and great love for every one of us.
We feel now the pain of parting with the one we love,
but we rejoice that we were privileged to experience life with her. 
We entrust Flo to you in death, as in life you entrusted her to us.
We pray in sincerity and hope.  Amen.
 
Scripture Reading:  Luke 21:1-4 (Rev. Gwen Davis)
 
Hymn # 509 VU “I, the Lord of Sea and Sky”
 
Meditation
 
Eulogy (Cheryl Nyl)
 
United Church Women Tribute (Phyllis Soles)
 
Moments of Remembrance (we share our stories)
 
Prayer of Thanksgiving
The Lord’s Prayer (#960 VU)
 
Words of Committal
Florence Lillian Willes, go forth from this world knowing that you are loved beyond the telling of it, that you will be missed beyond the knowing of it, that love never ends,
That you will be remembered and cherished, and that one day, we will be together again.
Now may you rest in the peace that is prepared for you in the wonderful presence of God.                                         (Bob Root)
 
Commissioning (words to ponder)
Live simply,
Love generously,
Serve faithfully,
Pray daily,
And leave the rest to God.
 
Celtic Blessing
Sung Benediction (tune of Edelweiss)
May the Lord, mighty God, bless and keep you forever.
Grant you peace, perfect peace, courage in every endeavour.
Lift your eyes and see God’s face, and God’s grace forever.
May the Lord, mighty God, bless and keep you forever!
 
Minister: Karen May                          Pianist: Maureen Northrop
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Memorial Service for Doretta Smith
 
Welcome to All
Preface
Why are we here?  We have come to this service to celebrate the life of Doretta Smith, whose time on earth has ended.
It is good to be here!
We have come as family and friends to remember the effect of Doretta’s life on each of our lives, and to give God thanks for the many blessings of that life.
It is good to be here!
Eulogy
Doretta was a loving, brave, strong lady.  She loved God, her husband and children, her family and friends, her gardens, flowers, chickens and pets.
Doretta thanked the Lord for her husband Stan, their 5 children and their spouses, 7 great grandchildren, her tall baby brother, the other relatives, her Church family, and her many, many wonderful friends for their prayers, kindness, generosity and concerns.  She really appreciated all the love, cards, flowers, food and tokens of their concern.  It was overwhelming.
She passed away quietly in the Evergreen Extended Care Unit on the 20th of July, 2015.
At the end, she was more concerned for the pain and suffering of those she left behind than she was of her own.
Let us pray:
Hymn #266 VU “Amazing Grace”
Act of Remembrance:
“They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old,
Age shall not weary them nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun, and in the morning
We will remember them.”
We will remember her….
(we will now observe a moment of silence as we reflect on the life of Doretta Smith)
Hymn p. 747 VU “The Lord’s My Shepherd”
 
Scripture Reading:  Ecclesiastes 3:1-4
For everything there is a season: a time to be born, and a time to die.
Jesus said… “ I am the resurrection and the life.  Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.”  (John 11:25)
 
Hymn #664 VU “What a Friend We have in Jesus”
(please allow the family to sing the first verse and if you would like to, join in softly for the last two verses.)
Prayer of Committal
Hymn # 426 VU “Saviour, Again to Your Dear Name”
 
Blessing:  May the road rise to meet you, May the wind be always at your back, May the sun shine warm upon your face, May the rains fall soft upon your fields, And until we meet again, May God hold you in the palm of God’s hand.
(Traditional Gaelic blessing)
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​ 
My mother Beryl Coupland was born in a Victoria hospital Dec 4,1924, as Beryl Grace Pitt.  Three years later her brother Douglas was born.  The family moved to New Westminster when mom was in her teens.  Her dad worked in the prison in the wood working shop.  Eventually they moved back to Victoria where mom graduated from High School in 1943.
 
In the 40’s if you wanted to be a school teacher you signed up at the Provincial Normal School.  Mom completed the course in 1945.  Her first job was a one room school house in Ucluelet. She had 11 students from grades 1 -9.  The inspectors had a habit of showing up unannounced and one time mom and the class were just leaving for a picnic, so she told him it was a nature study.  While in Uculet mom met my father Stan Willes.   He was working for Canadian Fish as a butcher.  They were married August 1947 in Victoria.
 
We came to Texada when I was 5 months old.  Dad and his Uncle Dick opened a butcher shop in Van Anda.  One day a week Mom would drive the pothole filled road to Blubber Bay in an old model T.  She told me she was offered tea at every house so it took all day to do the deliveries.
 
In the early 50’s Dad opened his first grocery store, the Island Food Market.  He had the present day Texada Market built and it opened May 1964.  Sadly, my father passed away June 1974 at 48 years old, then Mom and my brother Rod continued to run the store.  It was here that she first spotted Gord and succumbed to his British charm.  Within a short while they were married and together set out with community spirit in mind to work with many organizations to better the Island.  In between meetings they managed to travel to the Cook Islands, Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii, Cuba and spent many winters in Arizona.  During this time with Gord her son Rod died suddenly at 39 yrs old and 13 years later her youngest son Tony died in an accident.  Despite these blows she soldiered on, continuing to do the things she loved.
 
Mom loved to dance and she and Gord were a sight to behold gliding across a dance floor.
She loved music and sang in Nickie Webbers choir.
She loved to socialize with her friends, whether it was going out to dinner, a BBQ, a potluck, or the weekly Srs. luncheon at their specially reserved table.
 
Mom was the embodiment of womanly strength, grace and dignity.  She always spoke up for what she felt was right.  She was the powerful matriarch of our family and it was so difficult to believe that one day she wouldn’t be here.   
 
3yrs ago she fell and fractured her left hip and stubbornly proceeded to prove the naysayers wrong by getting back on her feet pretty quickly for an 84 year old.  But, 2 months ago she fell again and fractured her right hip.  Her dementia had advanced significantly since the last fall and this time, her light was failing.  She said to me- “I can go any time now because there’s plenty of family up there to meet me”. I know they were waiting for her.