McNeilly, Irene Anne (nee Phillips)
Irene left us on Tuesday night, May 12th 2015, after 79 years of life. Today it’s a beautiful day outside, and our Mom is gone, and these two realities are irreconcilable. But, it’s time to say good-bye.
Irene leaves our Dad, her husband John, on his own for the first time in 57 years. We, her kids, are now without the one person who always stood by us, through the thick and the sometimes thin. We so wish her grandchildren could have known her longer, but they did have enough time to know her well. She loved all of us, and we knew it.
Mom was born May 16th, 1935, and came from a huge rollicking family of 10 brothers and sisters, the Phillips clan from Edmonton, whose lineage pre-dates Canada as a country. Her dad started out as a fur trader and trapper in the NWT, and was a veteran of both Great Wars. Her mom was a solid mix of Prairie German Diedericks and Schwickraths, an iron fist in a soft velvet glove. Visiting the Phillips’s was never a quiet or dull affair, and as Mom told us, you learned quickly to speak up, eat fast, and hide your beer under your bed.
We were so lucky to have had Edith and Mona, Irene’s best friends from childhood, with us during her final week, laughing, singing, crying, and forever putting to rest the notion that Mom was an angel. Mom, we hope the extra prayers we snuck in cancelled out some of that rebel Catholic bad behaviour. Stuart, Marna and Glenn, Jean and Jason, Bob and Teresa: you kept us strong. And Dr. Sanghera, we bow down to you.
As a resident of Burnaby for 53 years, we’re sure Mom would agree that her taxes paid were well worth the care she received from the Palliative Care Unit 2D at Burnaby Hospital. Hugs to everyone who works there, and our thoughts are with the other families we met on the ward, almost all of them battling cancer, the scourge of our lifetime. We. Despise. Cancer.
We’re left with treasured memories, scattered pictures, and the collective love of our family and friends, and while we will miss Mom forever, she built a foundation that will last.
So goodnight Irene, we’ll love you always, and we’ll see you in our dreams: John, children Dave (Joanne), Donna, and Jim (Ann), grandchildren Janine, Lauren, Adam, Liam and Emma. Cheryl sends her love, as do your surviving brothers and sisters Ron, Margaret, Marna (Glenn), Bob (Teresa), and Wayne (Jean), and Edith and Mona, your sisters in spirit. And from the myriads of nephews and nieces and friends, we say farewell on their behalf.
For anyone who knows us, you’ll find it fitting that we’ll be getting together at Burnaby Me&Eds for a farewell party for Mom. If you want to make a donation in Irene’s name, we couldn’t think of a better place than the Palliative Care Unit 2D at Burnaby Hospital.
And Mom, if we ever get to see you on the other side, we’re going straight to your bed and grabbing a cold one from underneath it.
davemcneilly 