Obituary of Shirley Ruth Kuipers

Shirley Ruth Lillian (Martin) Kuipers

Our mother died peacefully at Drummond Hall, Halifax, NS on Feb 10, 2018. Shirley Ruth Lillian Martin was born on June 27, 1921 on the Eastern Shore of Nova Scotia in the village of Necum Teuch, the youngest of six children and the third daughter. Her father Captain William Martin was a Master Mariner and Captain of Lord Beaverbrook's yacht The Grilse. Her mother Lillian Martin was very active in the community and after Captain Martin lost his leg due to an accident onboard, they opened their home to paying guests and called it the Riverside Inn.

To attend high school in Halifax, Mom moved there in the 30s to live with her sister Mollie and her family. After graduating from Bloomfield High, she went to work in Halifax and eventually landed a great job at the Income Tax Department and began a lifetime involvement with the YWCA as a volunteer.  Living in Halifax during the Second World War was harrowing for her, having three brothers serving overseas as well as countless cousins and friends. During the war after her father died, she brought her mother into Halifax to live with her.

In 1953 Mom and a dear friend sailed aboard the Queen Mary to London for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth. Once back home in Halifax they had a party to show friends their travel photos. One of her friends asked that if she could bring a young Dutchman who had recently immigrated to Canada. "Don't bring any Dutchmen here!"  said my mother. Sjouke (George) Kuipers was that young Dutchman and they married in 1955. While Dad earned his Chartered Accountant degree and eventually opened his own business, they settled in Dartmouth where they raised two daughters.

Mom continued her volunteer work with the IODE (Sylvanous Morton branch) and the YWCA where she was appointed to the Board of Directors and travelled extensively on Y business. We also travelled as a family, heading to the Boston States every summer to visit her oldest brother Doug and his family and to Europe to visit our Dutch relatives. Mom and Dad were also very involved with St James United Church in Dartmouth and both Reverend Grant MacDonald who was Minister in the 60's and '70s and his wife Margaret, and Reverend Glenn MacLean and his wife Margie who served St James in the 80s, 90s and 2000s’, became valued friends of our family.

In the mid 70s, Mom and Dad bought a 200 -year- old Cape Cod in Lunenburg County called Demons Hill and spent many happy summers renovating and restoring the house and acres of farmland -- and always-entertaining family and friends. In the '80s, Mom attended St Mary’s University in Halifax, and graduated with her BA -- one of a few seniors in classes filled with students in their teens and 20s. She also took driving lessons and got her license while in her late '50s.

In the '90s Dad entered into a partnership with Deloitte's and had more free time.  They continued to enjoy Demons and their life in Dartmouth while still travelling to Ontario, BC, the States and Europe to visit family. However, Dad's health began to fail and in 2006 they moved into a retirement community. After Dad's death in 2013 Mom moved to Shannex in Halifax. She was still very independent and enjoying life when she suffered a stroke in December 2016.

Predeceased by brothers Doug, Max and Wells and sisters Elsie and Mollie and spouses, and husband George, Mom is survived by daughter Julia (Ron Christie) in Toronto and Rachel in Halifax as well as several generations of nieces, nephews and cousins throughout Canada, the US and The Netherlands.

The family's thanks go to the Berkeley in Dartmouth where Mom and Dad enjoyed happy years. Our thanks to Evan Hall (Shannex) where Mom moved in 2015 and especially Drummond Hall (Shannex) where Manager Colleen Walker and her wonderful staff made Mom's last year such a comfortable and happy one.

Mom's world centered around family and friends and while the number of those who deserve our thanks are many, Julia, Rachel and Ron would like to single out a few of the most deserving. Our cousins Nancy MacBain, Martin and Helen Raine, George and Lila Kuipers and our dear family friend Patricia Maynard, all brightened Mom’s days in the later years with their visits, flowers and gifts.  Julia's mother in law Beverley Christie in Ontario also deserves our appreciation for her notes and gifts and visits to Dad and Mom through the years.

A celebratory service for Mom will be held on June 19, at 11:00a.m. in St. James United Church, Dartmouth NS.. In lieu of flowers, we ask that you make a donation to a favorite charity (although Mom did love flowers).