In loving memory ~
It is with great sadness that we bid farewell to our mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, Barbara Florence Desprez.
Barbara was born on January 14th, 1931 in Vancouver to Marjorie and Valentine Gwyther. She showed a talent for singing and theatre very early, being involved in Kitsilano High School productions and the KHS Girls' Choir, as well as singing solos at Crosby United Church services. Barbara appeared in many UBC Musical Society productions between 1949-1953. This is where she met Roger and they married in 1953 before moving to Dawson Creek where Roger taught high school for 3 years. They came to Nanaimo, where Roger started a position at NDSS, with one child and by 1965 the family numbered 7.
In June 1961, along with fellow teacher Geoffrey Rogers, they put out a call to anyone interested in forming a community drama group to meet at their house and the Nanaimo Theatre Group was born that night. They were both involved in all aspects of theatre production over the following 60+ years but Barbara's love was always performing. She appeared in countless productions over the years, most notably as Eliza Doolittle in "My Fair Lady" (1969), Yum Yum in " The Mikado" (1972), Miss Adelaide in "Guys And Dolls" (1975), Mother Superior in "Nunsense" (1994) and Nana in "For The Pleasure of Seeing Her Again" (2000). She also had some professional acting opportunities over the years, including as Goldilocks in a CBC fairy tales series while she was pregnant with her fourth child.
For many years, one of her favourite roles was impersonating Queen Victoria for the Empire Days Society. She loved visiting the schools and taking part in the holiday festivities.
Barbara worked at a variety of jobs over the years: Falconer Books (Country Club Mall), People's Jewellers (Harbour Park Mall), The Treasure Trove (Commercial St.). She also volunteered for The Canadian Cancer Society and the Port Theatre. She could be seen zipping around town in her bright yellow VW Beetle or her orange Austin Mini with the black racing stripe.
Barbara was vivacious, bubbly, and possessed "way more character than her 5-foot frame could hold", as a family friend has said. She loved her large family and nothing gave her more pleasure than being in the middle of a large, loud and happy gathering.
She was predeceased by husband Roger in October 2021. Mom/Gran will be greatly missed by her children Mark, Lisa, Ross, Brent (Cheryl) and Mila Skeeles (Brad). She also leaves behind 9 grandchildren: Jason (Alysha Rattay), Logan Campbell, Dylan, Isaac (Sarah), Jacob Skeeles (Amanda), Paul (Mariah), Madelyn, Rachel Dzbik (Adam) & Jazmine, and 5 great-grandchildren: Alex, Mya, Lily-Anne, Emmet and Thomas.
We'd like to thank the first responders and all the staff at Nanaimo Regional General Hospital who helped ease our mother's passing.
A memorial will be arranged in the near future. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to The Canadian Cancer Society.