Doreen Mary Lumb

Doreen Mary Lumb, 92 years of age, of Vancouver and previously of Wiarton ON, Ottawa ON, Sarnia ON, and Devon UK, passed away peacefully on November 5, 2022.

Doreen, also known as D, Do, Mom Lumb, Grandma and Grandma Do, was born in 1930 in Bideford, North Devon, to Irene and Claude Fulford. Her father ran the local gas works, where gas was extracted from coal to supply gas for local use. Doreen grew up in the family home in the middle of the gas works - not a common upbringing today. She told us stories of walking down the hill, across the Bideford bridge and up the hill to get to Edgehill school daily. Her Mom and Dad thought Edgehill was a better school for her than the school on their side of the bridge. Doreen’s family lived through WWII in Bideford, where they often spotted planes on their way to and from bombing raids.

Doreen left home at the age of 17 and moved to Bath where she trained to become a nurse. In Bath she met her lifelong friend June Teek. They remained close all their lives. Upon graduation she worked in paediatric nursing in Oxford. She told stories of the very strict head nurses. Doreen worked on the ward where many of the children had osteomyelitis, a bone infection which was very slow to heal, and the children would be there for up to a year. She said when the parents were allowed to visit once a month, they brought candies for their children and the children were all very sick the next day! Oxford is where Doreen eventually met her love and lifelong partner, Peter.

Doreen and Peter married and immigrated to Canada in 1954, via the Cunard Line’s passenger liner Franconia. They settled in Sarnia, ON where Doreen gave birth to six children, one of whom died in infancy. Sarnia is close to the Bruce Peninsula, where the family purchased a wonderful vacation log cabin on Lake Huron (‘the cottage’) where they all enjoyed the outdoors, both summer and winter.

In 1973 the family moved to Ottawa for Peter’s work. Doreen enjoyed both downhill and cross-country skiing. She’d drive to Camp Fortune to have lessons on Wednesdays with her lady friends. She and Peter volunteered for the Ottawa Racers ski club and Doreen was often seen at the registration and time keeping table for events.

Upon Peter’s retirement in 1989, Doreen and Peter moved full-time to the cottage on the Bruce where they built their dream home. They remained there for many years before moving to Vancouver in 2010 to be closer to family and a more forgiving climate.

Doreen was very active in her retirement years, volunteering at the church, clearing ski trails and helping with an adult learn to read program and she was active with the Mar Women’s Institute, square dancing, the local euchre club and yoga.

Doreen’s life was filled with adventures reflecting her love of family, her friends, the outdoors, volunteering, and fibre crafts. She was an expert knitter and rug hooker: her rug hooking collaborations with Peter were truly works of art. She was a regular pianist at the Red Bay church and enjoyed playing piano for many years. She had a lovely voice and was a member of several choirs over the years, including the Sarnia MelodyAires.

Doreen loved music spanning many genres as is reflected in her CD collection, including Angela Hewitt’s piano concertos, Kathleen Ferrier, John Denver, Yoyo Ma, Louis Armstrong, The Barnstaple Men’s Choir, Pavarotti and much more.  Songs that she connected with, right up to her final days, included Kiss Me Goodnight Sergeant Major (with the line “bring me up a nice hot cup of tea caw blimey”), I Got Rhythm (with the line “who could ask for anything more”) and Oh When the Saints.

She maintained an optimistic perspective on life and was always up for new adventures, including learning to ski and paddle a canoe when she moved to Canada, learning to sail at age 40, and moving to Vancouver at age 80. She even rode a motorcycle at age 80!

Doreen enjoyed cooking healthy meals using native flora and fauna. On a rainy day at the cottage the whole family would suit up for a day of collecting mushrooms in the woods, occasionally accompanied by grumbling from the children.

Her Christmas cake, trifles, and Christmas pudding were eagerly anticipated by the family every year. One of her favourite activities was to take a tray of food to eat on the shore by the cottage with family and enjoy the view at the same time.

She was a caring and interested grandma for each of her grandchildren and great-grandchild, who loved spending time with her at the cottage, often catching frogs at the local pond with them.

Doreen is survived by her children Catherine Lumb Baier (Harald), Christopher Lumb (Kathleen), Janet McKeown (Martin), David Lumb (Shelley), Adrian Becklumb (Penny), eleven grandchildren: Christina, Michael, Brendan, Farran, Rowan, Aileen, Monica, Adam, Kieran, Katia, Georgia, and Juliet; one great-grandchild, Caitlin, and numerous nieces, nephews and their families. Doreen is pre-deceased by her loving husband Peter, brothers Maurice and David, daughter Rebecca, and son-in-law Harald Baier.

A private Memorial Service will be held in Vancouver. A public Memorial Service and interment will be held in Red Bay, Ontario in July 2023, where her ashes will be laid to rest next to her husband Peter.

The family would especially like to thank the staff at Blenheim Lodge for their wonderful care and compassion for the last three years, and the staff at UBC Tapestry for their care and support over the ten years that Doreen and Peter lived there.

Donations would be gratefully accepted by Blenheim Lodge in Vancouver.