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July 16, 2018
Known by her in-laws and friends as "the brain", Johnnie Hossie (nee Mercer) passed away July 16 at Surrey Memorial Hospital.

A brilliant woman with a formidable memory, she was a child of the Great Depression and left school early to help support her family, working as an executive secretary and bookkeeper at Gault Brothers in Vancouver. There she met her husband Jack; they were together for 67 years.

She was a gifted seamstress and tailor, and her beautifully crafted baby clothes and quilts were sold in their dozens at the Peace Arch General gift shop to support the hospital's work. She took up tennis in her thirties and it became a passion that gave her enormous pleasure for 40 years. She was fascinated by math and science, loved puzzles and crosswords and had a sharp political intelligence.

Johnnie got older but, despite her jokes about it, she never really aged. She remained lively and funny and engaged to the end of her life. Dementia affected her memory but never her insights and wit.

She is survived by her three daughters, Helen, Linda and Patricia, her sister Lynne Cleland and her sisters-in-law Helen Gorrie and Bernice Ramsay, as well as many nieces and nephews.

Many thanks to Dr. Kenny Lee for his care and thoughtfulness, and to all the ever helpful staff on the orthopaedic surgery ward. At Johnnie's request, there will be no service.