Tribute

Born, March 9 1932 in Goulburn, New South Wales, Australia to JB and Doris Mullen.  Died, July 3 2014 in Penticton, British Columbia, Canada in the loving presence of her six children and husband Alex Forman.

Survived by many: her six children (Elizabeth (Bob), Monica, Francis (Amber), Bronwen (Sheldon), David (Val), Robin (Murray)); thirteen grandchildren (Delaney, Lindsay, Kailin, Euan, Enid, Imogen, Connor, Ronan, Eleri, Sarah, Curtis, Liam and Sean); and two step-children (Ross (Mary) and Heather).

The eldest of seven children (John(d), Margaret, Frank(d), Ruth(d), Dorothy, David), she excelled in sport and academics at Our Lady of Mercy College, Goulburn.  Graduated 1953 as a RN from St Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney, Australia.  Pat decided to travel the world with her friend Joan Petersen (née Ryan).  After landing in Vancouver in January 1956, they took positions at St Martin’s Hospital in Oliver BC, following which fateful encounters ensued with their future husbands.  Pat met and married Nick (AE) Jones at Christ the King Catholic Church in Oliver, August 17 1956.  Her six children were all raised in the family home on Fairview Road in Oliver, just up the street from where Nick worked as a teacher at the Southern Okanagan Secondary School (SOSS).  After a few years as a full time mother, she returned to work in private practice with Drs Rowed, Champion, Unger and Shaw.  Upon retirement, she enjoyed a full life with Nick, and was blessed with a steady procession of grandchildren.   Nick died in 1996, and a few years later she remarried with Alex Forman and built another beautiful and happy home on Lakeshore Drive in Osoyoos.  Pat and Alex often indulged their passion for travel, and frequently welcomed family and friends to their home.  Pat and Alex moved to Penticton in 2011, where Pat again established a close network of friends and involvement in community activities.

Throughout her life, Pat was elegance grace and spirit personified.  The Sergeant-Major was principled, tireless, fair, and acutely intelligent throughout her life.  She deftly managed her household and developed deep involvement with her friends and community.  A tireless reader, she was a founding member of both the longest running book club in BC and the Oliver Film Club.  Pat was also a loyal and long-serving member of the Catholic Women’s League and made significant contributions to her community: as a key figure in the development of Oliver’s Sunnybank Retirement Centre, serving on Oliver’s Library board, and giving her time and energy to work within the Catholic Church.  Pat also established an academic scholarship at SOSS in honour of her first husband Nick Jones.   Pat’s love of beauty and nature made her an award winning gardener, an amateur painter, an aficionado of classical music, and a font of knowledge and learning.

Prayers will be recited at 7:00 pm Monday July 7, 2014 at St. Ann’s Catholic Church, Penticton, BC.  A funeral mass will be celebrated  at Christ the King Catholic Church in Oliver at 10:30 am Tuesday  July 8th, followed by a luncheon hosted by the CWL.  Interment will take place at the Oliver Municipal Cemetery, with a reception afterwards (location to be announced).

In lieu of flowers, donations to one of Pat’s favourite charities would be appreciated: World Vision, or the Hogar Belen Orphanage (Sister Loretta’s Orphanage in Peru).  Donations can be made online at: www.worldvision.ca  (World Vision) or http://www.wellspring-outreach.org/peru.html  (Hogar Belen Orphanage)

Condolences and tributes may be directed to the family by visiting www.nunes-pottinger.com

Arrangements entrusted to Nunes-Pottinger Funeral Service & Crematorium, Oliver & Osoyoos.