March 9, 1931 - February 11, 2023
Esther Godfrey passed away peacefully on February 11, 2023, surrounded by the love and gratitude of her family. She was happily married to Al for 69 years, until his passing in August 2022, and she rejoined him in time for Valentine's Day, the anniversary of their first date.
Esther was born in Selkirk, Manitoba, the third and youngest child of Ted and Lillian Townsend. She spent ten formative years in Birtle, Manitoba where she made a number of close and lifelong friendships before her family moved to Winnipeg, where she met Al at Kelvin High School. Theirs is a love story that spanned 75 years.
In 1952, Esther graduated from the University of Manitoba with a B.A. in Psychology. She and Al married in 1953 and moved to Toronto to begin raising their family.
In 1968 they moved west to Richmond, BC. Esther dedicated herself to homemaking and parenting, honing her considerable skills in cooking, baking, sewing, gardening and entertaining.
She and Al loved to host family and friends and were always interested in others and their lives. They also travelled extensively and enjoyed learning about different places and cultures.
In 2008 they moved to South Surrey and became engaged in that community. Throughout her life, Esther was a master at making friendships and maintaining them through regular correspondence, phone calls and visits.
Esther worked part-time doing intelligence testing in Toronto area schools and the Hospital for Sick Children. When Al's work took them to Taiwan for five years, she worked alongside him as Office Manager.
Esther was also a lifelong volunteer, enriching her life as well as the communities she served. Some examples are Girl Guides of Canada, South Peel Unitarian Church, Richmond Carefree Society, Fraserview Lodge, and her PEO Sisterhood Chapter AX.
In 1978, she was honoured as Richmond's "Citizen of the Year" for her work as supervisor of the Carefree daycare program. She had earned her Early Childhood Educator certificate in order to fulfill those responsibilities.
Esther found much joy in family. She took great interest and pride in the lives, partners, and careers of her children and grandchildren.
Esther is warmly remembered as a loving mother to Ruth (Tom) Stubens, Katie Vick, and John (Karen) Godfrey; grandmother to Jennifer (Dave) Owen, Bryan (Alexandra) and Dean (Emma) Godfrey, Carl (Lylah) and Paul Stubens; and great-grandmother to Brock Godfrey and William Owen. She was looking forward to welcoming Madelyn Esther Godfrey, who arrived later in the month.
In addition, she is fondly remembered by her elder sister Muriel, several dear cousins, a niece and several nephews, as well as other extended family and close friends.
The family would like to thank Dr. Scott Garrison and Dr. Laura Jane Henderson for their decades of care and support. We also extend our sincere gratitude to all the staff at Augustine House in Ladner for their kindness and compassionate care over the past two years.
Esther was cremated and a Celebration of Life will be held in the Spring.
Given the great diversity of need, donations to your preferred charity in Esther's memory would be most welcome.