Obituary of Doreen Poulson

POULSON: Doreen Isabel. Mom passed away in her sleep May 1st, 2014 at the Assiniboine Centre at the grand age of 87. She is survived by her son Keith (Karen) Poulson and daughters Roxanne Poulson and Rhonda (Gaynor) Williams as well as numerous grandchildren and great grandchildren. Mom was predeceased by her husband Ken of 62 years, in 2010. She was also predeceased by three sons, Monty, Gary and Rodney. Mom was the gentle strength of our family who always put family first. A hard worker, she led by example working until the age of 82. A measure of Mom's resiliency and strength of character was shown when Mom told her employer she was going to finally retire, they at first did not believe her and then when they accepted her decision, let her know she would be welcome to return at any time. When not working she loved spending time with family, especially her daughter Rhonda (Gaynor) and her grandchildren Brett and Brooke who were fortunate enough to reside in Brandon with Mom. She was especially proud when both Brooke and Brett had children of their own. Separated by distance, Mom kept all her other children, grandchildren and great grandchildren close to her by having her home covered with photos of all of her extended family. She loved talking about her family's successes and was always gracious during our hard times. Mom was the master at moving, as Dad's career path moved us across western Canada and the USA, one year moving twice. Mom taught us how to make friends and quickly become part of each new community we moved into. Not surprisingly though, when Mom and Dad made their final move to Brandon, Mom said that was enough and enjoyed just being in one place in her twilight years. She was sad when Dad passed away and missed fussing over him, but lived independently for the last four years until she fell and broke her hip in the middle of April. She loved watching her favorite TV shows and after she retired, could always be found at home in the afternoon watching the Young and the Restless with her good friend, Elva. She loved her Chinese food and would never turn down a chance for deep fried shrimp. Mom always had a good sense of humor and was also the model of decorum. Even in her final days, she didn't want to be a bother to the nurses and staff of the palliative care unit and was polite until the very end. Mom has been cremated, as per her wishes, and a memorial service is planned for Thursday, May 22nd, 2014 at 11:30 a.m. at the Brockie Donovan Chapel, 332-8th Street, with Rev. Larry Mitchell officiating. Our family would like to extend our appreciation for the compassionate care given to Mom by the staff of the ICU and the palliative care unit of the Brandon Regional Health Centre, in particular to nurse Robyn of the ICU, who all did their best to make Mom's last days comfortable. Donations in memory of Mom may be made to the Heart & Stroke Foundation of Manitoba, #3-824-18th Street, Brandon, MB, R7A 5B7 or to the Canadian Cancer Society, 415-1st Street, Brandon, MB, R7A 2W8.