ELIZABETH
MILLAR PEDDIE
(nee
COSSAR)
Elizabeth "Betty" Peddie (nee Cossar) of Winnipeg, Manitoba, passed
away peacefully at
Deer Lodge Centre on Sunday, June 15, 2014 at the age of 98 years.
Betty is survived by her sister Janey
Harrison; niece Patricia Maxwell (Brian); niece Irene-Elizabeth Johnson;
niece-in-law Allison Harrison; numerous great nieces and nephews; and an
abundance of life-long friends. She was predeceased by her loving husband
Arthur Peddie in 1993; brother-in-law Noel Harrison in 2009; and nephew Tom
Harrison in 2014.
Betty was born in Winnipeg on April 24, 1916,
the elder of two daughters born to Scottish parents Tom and Christine Cossar.
She graduated from Kelvin High School and continued on to receive her Licentiate
for piano from the Royal College of Music.
By playing with a local Scottish orchestra Betty was able to cover her
fees at Angus Business College. In early 1942 she left her job as a
stenographer at Metropolitan Life and enlisted in the Canadian Women’s Army
Corp (CWAC). Ten months later she sailed with other CWACS and troops on a five
day voyage to London, England where as a member of the First Echelon
Intelligence Branch, Betty was entrusted with handling highly sensitive
military intelligence. She lugged her heavy accordion on her slender 5’3” frame
throughout her CWAC career, bringing joy
to captivated audiences by playing in
barracks, the London underground,
hospitals, concerts, on short wave radio and at sea.
Stationed in Italy, Betty met her beloved
future husband, Arthur “Red” Peddie, an enlisted soldier who also happened to
be a Winnipegger. She returned home to civilian life in 1946, the couple
married in 1949 and were together until Red’s death in 1993. After the war
Betty worked for the Conservative Party and then at the Deer Lodge Centre until
her retirement in 1981.
More than 60 years after the war, Betty was
still keeping spirits up with her vibrantly cheerful personality and her
regular piano gigs at Heritage Lodge, Sharon Home, Poseidon Care Home and Deer
Lodge Centre. She started playing the organ for the CFB 17 Wing Chapel after
her retirement where she made many wonderful friends and was dearly loved. One
of Betty’s neighbors thought she must have had a twin as she was so busy with
her piano playing and attending all the different organizations with which she
was involved. Over the years, Betty’s family loved singing along with all the
old Scottish tunes and other popular music at family gatherings as she “tickled
the ivories”. Betty confided that “I
never feel like I’m old - you don’t get old inside, you know!”
Funeral Services will be held on Friday, June
27, 2014 at 11:00 a.m. in the Canadian Forces Base 17 Wing Chapel, at 2235 Silver Avenue (off Whytewold Road north of Ness).
Special thanks to all the staff in T6 Ward
and Prime at Deer Lodge Centre for their loving care.
In lieu of flowers donations can be made to
the Deer Lodge Centre or the Muscular Dystrophy Association of Manitoba.
Wojcik’s Funeral Chapel &
Crematorium, 2157 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba 204.897.4665, is in care
of arrangements - wojciksfuneralchapel.com
Wojcik’s
FUNERAL CHAPEL & CREMATORIUM
2157 PORTAGE AVENUE
204 – 897 - 4665
www.wojciksfuneralchapel.com
No comments:
Post a Comment