Obituary of Evelyn Willena Smith

SMITH, Evelyn Willena- 90 Halifax, passed away peacefully 23 November 2023 in the VG hospital. Born in Antigonish, NS she was the daughter of the late Russell and Jessie (Smith) Baxter. She attended St Ninan St School and was a graduate of Mount St. Bernard Secretarial College, Antigonish. Her career began in Antigonish where she was employed as a Bookkeeper with Smith’s Hardware. Moving to Halifax in 1952 she worked a number of years with Barrow, Nicoll & Co. Chartered Accountants, and then with the Halifax office of Atlantic Bridge Co. Ltd., Lunenburg. For ten years she worked from home as bookkeeper for Highland Pulp Limited, a family-owned company which operated in the Highlands of Cape Breton. In later years she was employed with the Department of National Defence in the Management and Professional Training Office retiring in 1995 as Systems Monitor with 726 Communications Squadron. She enjoyed skating, skiing, dancing, bridge, gardening, and sailing. She was also an accomplished quilter and a Past President of the Mayflower Hand Quilters Society of NS. Her many quilts will be enjoyed by family and grandchildren. She designed and oversaw the construction work of her Homecrest home, where her oil painting and needlepoint talents decorated the walls. She loved her two children very much and enjoyed driving them around to their many school and sport activities in which they were involved, such as baseball, hockey, music lessons, majorettes, cheerleading and sailing. Volunteer work occupied her spare time. Ten years were spent with the YWCA as a member of the Program Committee, Leadership Development Committee and later as a member of the Board of Directors responsible for Special Projects and finally as Volunteer Coordinator. During this time, she also volunteered with the Girl Guides of Canada as Brown Owl for three years, a Guide Captain for two years and a Judge for Provincial competitions. As a member of the Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron, for many years she was responsible for volunteers during the Marblehead Race Week festivities. Evelyn was very active in church work at Bethany United, being a member of the MacKinnon Unit UCW, the Flower Committee and as an Elder. Her most memorable church work was with the Memorial Gifts Committee where she designed and worked with the artists on the new stained-glass windows in the MacKinnon Memorial Chapel. She was predeceased by her second husband Donald H. Smith. Surviving are her son David (Mary-Anne McNeil) Lyons, Calgary, and daughter Rozanne Lyons (Dexter the cat) Ottawa, grandchildren Neil (Darina), Erin (Garth) Melrose and Mark (Kelly), as well as two great grandchildren James and Mila all of Calgary, and many beloved cousins across Canada. Cremation has taken place. Visitation: Friday, December 1, 7-9 pm MacKinnon Memorial Chapel, Bethany United Church. Celebration of Life: Saturday, December 2 at 1 pm, Bethany, 7171 Clinton Ave, Halifax. Reception to follow in the Fellowship Hall. Burial will take place in Glen Bard Cemetery, James River, Antigonish Co. at a later date. Family flowers only. Donations may be made to Bethany United Church Paul Rackham Memorial Music Fund or the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Nova Scotia. Visitation: Friday, December 1, 7-9 pm MacKinnon Memorial Chapel, Bethany United Church. Celebration of Life: Saturday, December 2 at 1 pm, Bethany, 7171 Clinton Ave, Halifax. Reception to follow. Livestream link for Celebration of Life: https://youtube.com/live/Relh4TTipIQ