Diana Louise Hawley

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It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of our mother, Diana Hawley.

Born in Winnipeg on February 14th, 1935, she was the youngest of three children born to Ada and Kenneth Barnes.  Her sister and brother were Kay and Ken.  Ken had always wanted a brother and as such, called mom Mike for much of her youth.  Ken and mom had many adventures in their youth but at the tender age of nine, when dad (who made a point of sitting behind mom in class), would dip moms pigtails in the inkwell on his desk....so while perhaps not love at first sight, they soon enough became inseparable.

Mom and dad worked hard growing up, at the age of sixteen they cut a mile long road in off the highway to access our lake property in Kendal inlet.  They used Swede saws and axes and built corduroy to cross two swamps, but that was just the start.  They built three of the homes they lived in and two cabins on their property on Lake of the Woods.  And by built I mean they formed the foundation, tied the rebar, and did all of the plumbing, window installations and electrical themselves.  They drove every nail from the floor joists to the shingles (and mom worked right alongside of dad nail for nail, running wire from the panel to whatever outlet or switch needed to be done).  

We were not poor but we were not rich either, yet my mom and dad (starting when my brother and I were five and seven respectively), would save up enough every two years to take us on a vacation to the US.  We saw pretty much every state that you can drive to.  The trips were usually only a week long so that meant driving 16 and 18 hour days on the weekend to get to our destination so we could have four to five days there before the drive home.  My brother and I were typical boys and would often start to argue over one of us encroaching on the others side of the car.  It was never long into the trip before dad would set us straight and lay down the law, “you two stay quiet and watch the scenery!“  And if either of us protested it was usually followed by the very effective suggestion “quit whining or I’ll give you something to whine about!”.  He was a great dad but we knew he meant business.  Mom would often read to us on the drives and CBC radio was a constant companion for as long as the signal held out.

Mom often made roast beef sandwiches for the trips or when dad and I would go hunting and while I’m not a fan of mayo she always made hers with just the right amount and though I haven’t had one in many years I will never forget the taste or comfort they brought.

Christmas was always my favorite time of year and the dinners she and my aunts and uncles would put on.  Huge meals and all the cousins and aunts and uncles would be there.  Her meals were nothing short of amazing, as were the deserts!

Mom and dad retired early in life and spent their winters in Florida.  Dad being the handyman he was and mom always keeping the house immaculate, owners of the condos where they rented in pinnacle port would trip over themselves in an effort to have mom and dad rent their condo as it was always left in a better state when they moved out, than it had been when they moved in.

Summers were spent on Lake of the Woods at the cabin, with dad puttering away in the garage on various projects and mom watching and recording the activities of the loons.  Mom and dad loved to entertain and it was not uncommon for as many as twenty people to show up unexpectedly by car or water or both and spend the day, and mom would fix up meals for the group as though their arrival had been planned for days.  

They were both avid, and very advanced bridge players.  Both could count cards with shocking ability. You’d think they hustled cards in Las Vegas, and a good thing for Las Vegas that they never did.  Mom would often look at you after playing your first card and say, that was silly you should have played the king and then that card, or whatever card she knew you had that was the better play.  Dad was not as instructive as he loved to win and would simply trounce you.  In crib I used to win about half the time with my mom, only rarely against dad.  I suspect she let me win more than I’d care to admit.

Dad passed away in 17 and mom missed him a lot.  Both Kay and Ken passed away many years ago.  So both Jerry and I know mom and dad will be thrilled to be together forever this time, and I like to think Ken will be glad to have his old pal “Mike” to go on adventures with again.

All the best mom.

Love Jeff (Tammy, Sarah and Shane) and Jerry (Cheryl, Christopher, Ryan and Kiana