Obituary of Elizabeth Deane Uhlman

It is with deepest sorrow and heartbreak that we announce the passing of our beloved mother, Elizabeth (Deane) Uhlman of Eastern Passage, on January 25th, after a very sudden decline in her health. Born to Delina and John Deane and raised within a very close-knit extended family in Leeds, England, she was the very essence of a proper Yorkshire lady - strong, determined, reserved, compassionate, eternally positive, and thoroughly devoted to her family. She was well known for her always friendly and cheery attitude, but also for an encyclopedic knowledge, constant cup of tea, and never-failing sense of humour. Elizabeth excelled as a student, and as a teenager was selected to attend the Kinderdorf Pestalozzi school in Trogen, Switzerland. It was such a positive place that she kept friends from there for her whole life and reminisced frequently. After graduating from school she worked as a librarian in Leeds for some five years, something that with her love of reading she was perfectly suited for. She then joined the WVS and was sent to West Germany for social services support to the British Forces, where she met her future husband Victor, who was there with the Canadian Armed Forces. After he asked her enough times to get a yes, they were married in England and would go on to be posted to various military bases in West Germany, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia. Along the way she gave birth to her two brilliant and wonderful (her words, not mine) children. Throughout her life she would be a constant reader and bibliophile, frequently visiting her local library and bookstores. She read two books most days, frequently three. As toddlers we learned to hit the book if we wanted something. We knew our way around a library as well as we knew the playground by the time we could talk. Her ability to read was the most cruel thing Alzheimer’s later took from her. Fluently bilingual in German, on a later posting to Germany she worked as a newspaper proofreader and an English/German tutor. Back in Canada she was a performer at the Upper Clements Theme Park, enjoying both the job and the training which included all the physical performance skills, such as juggling and pratfalls. She was often recognized later as the “school ma’am” from her time there. After Victor’s retirement from the military they moved to Round Hill, where she remained until going to live in Eastern Passage with her daughter in early 2017. She loved being out with her family and travelled frequently in her later years with her children, particularly enjoying the Annapolis Valley and PEI. A classical music listener for life she loved attending recitals and concerts, especially the ones at Église St. Bernard. As a mother she was generous and loving to a fault. Always supportive and always concerned for her devoted children, she remained a loving beacon for us until her passing - a loss we know we cannot replace, a genuine blessing to us. She is predeceased by her husband Victor, parents Delina (Colinson) Deane Carr and John George Deane, and her older brother John Deane. She is survived by her children, Janine and Jonathan; her British family - brother Colin Deane, nephews Philip (Tracey), Matthew (Anna), and Robert (Aggie), and niece Carole (Wyn), adored cousin Jean (Terry), and cousins and grand-nephews and nieces; her Canadian family – Sisters-in-law Corinne and Treasure, Brothers-in-law Garnet (Burdette) and Clyde (Laura), June, and many nieces and nephews and extended family. The family would like to thank the staff of 7C at Northwood Halifax for their attentive care and concern over the past 16 months, for both Elizabeth and the daughter who showed up every night. A memorial celebration will be held at a later date, likely in the spring. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to any Alzheimer's Society.