Obituary of Evelyn Wyant

Evelyn Wyant, a lifelong resident of the Peace River area, passed away peacefully with her family by her side, on June 27, 2018 in the Dawson Creek & District Hospital, at the age of 89 years.

Our Mother did not have a lot of things, but the one thing she had was True Grit. Evelyn Fay Browns was born February 9, 1929 in Grande Prairie, Alberta. The second born of Boyd & Gladys Browns, her first task in life was already upon her: teaching her older brother Ken to talk. She got an “A” in this endeavor, for those who remember Ken; she may not even be forgiven for doing as well as Ken was known for the rest of his life for talking people ears off. Evelyn was soon joined by younger siblings Bert, Bud and Dorothy.

In 1941, the Browns family moved to the Pine Valley. Here the Browns homesteaded, trapped, fished, farmed and made moonshine. Here Evelyn enjoyed looking after the farm animals, riding horses, playing marbles and skating on the Pine River. It was here in the Pine Valley she met the first love of her life, Alvin Johnson at age 15. But life was not easy; her first test of “True Grit” came when she had to go in front of a judge for permission to marry at 16. Her father did not approve of her leaving home. As he had started a feud with the Johnson family years before over trapping rights. This must be said, Evelyn’s father was one mean S.O.B. known for only one good thing: Making Moonshine.

Evelyn and Alvin married when she was 16 and their first child Mona was born the following year.

After Mona was born, her Mother wanted to see her granddaughter and arrangements were made for Evelyn and baby to visit. Unfortunately her Dad, who had dis-owned Evelyn when she married Alvin, had still not forgiven them and refused to let her on the family property. Evelyn and baby had to turn around and go home without the visit. She only learned many years later, that this was the day her mother had enough and left Boyd.  Gladys packed up her two youngest children who were still living at home and caught a ride to Dawson Creek.

Evelyn grew up knowing what alcohol does to people and never had a drop of it until her mid-50s when she started enjoying white wine and then beer, but only one a day, with her dinner. On special occasions she would enjoy a second beer. Brother Johns Brewhaus became her favorite store where she brewed and bottled her own beer religiously for many years.

Evelyn was happily married to Alvin and soon Richard, Mila and Larry joined Mona in the family. In 1954 when Evelyn was just age 25, tragedy struck when her husband Alvin was killed while felling trees on a work site in Pine Valley. Now widowed and raising 4 young children, she began helping her mother and Ken with a new family business, the Browns Café in the Pine Pass.  The café was a booming business while the BC Rail line and Highway 97 were constructed through the Pine Pass to Dawson Creek. This was how she happened to meet George Wyant who was working on the construction. They fell in love and were married in 1959. Evelyn and George settled in Gundy. In 1960, Howard was born. The Wyant family continued to farm until tragedy struck again. As fate would have it, George developed health problems shortly after their marriage and he passed away on January 2, 1967. Evelyn was devastated. The tragic losses of her two husbands were too much for her and she refused to date ever again. This didn’t stop other men from trying and she received two proposals from men that she thought very highly of. She just couldn’t bring herself to marry again. She was now just content to raise her family and live out her life.

In 1970, she lost her younger brother Bert whom she had been very close to. Then her mother in 1972 also passed. Life was hard for Evelyn between 1967 – 1979, raising a family of 5, widowed with no pension and having no formal education beyond Grade 5. But she did the best she could. 

In 1969 she moved to Dawson Creek to be closer to work. Here she moved from working at the Trading Post to the Travel Lodge, washing dishes and cleaning rooms, then to the Black Lantern Restaurant. All these jobs were at minimum wages and finances were difficult. She finally got a big break when she went to work for Home Support Services. She loved the job of working with the elderly and they paid a decent wage. Evelyn continued to work with Home Support until she retired at age 68. Now remember Evelyn’s first husband Alvin died in 1954. She had been getting a widows pension from WCB until she remarried to George in 1959. But there was a rule, if a widow remarried; they were no longer eligible to receive the pension. Unbeknownst to Evelyn, a group of other widows who had also lost their pensions due to remarrying started a class action lawsuit against WCB. To make a long story short, in 1996 the courts decided that these widows should not have lost their pensions and awarded back pay for the portion they had lost out on and reinstated the pension payments.

This back pay and pension income opened up Evelyn’s life like a dream come true. She was able to move from her apartment into her own strata home in Parkside Villa. And she could travel! She loved cruises and other trips but mostly she loved to see her grandchildren and great grandchildren.  She tried to never miss a graduation ceremony and was so proud to see anyone in the family graduate because she knew how important education is for success in life.

All of Mom’s life she loved the water so swimming had become her natural  therapy and she loved going daily to the pool and swimming laps and thoroughly enjoyed the hot tub and sauna. She had the longest continuing Pool membership when the New Borek Aquatic Center Open and was asked to be at the opening ceremony, but declined, that kind of stuff did not interest her. Mom also loved music and the arts, for years she was a huge fan of the Dionysus Theatre Company and South Peace Secondary School theatre, rarely missing a performance. She also developed a passion for garage sales and dog walking in her retirement, she loved all animals and always supported the SPCA.

By request, we are also to add she loved killing dandelions, this was defiantly part of her retirement route, coming over and digging up my yard.

Just for a perspective, she grew up in a hunting family and earned all of her spending money by shooting squirrels for 10 cents each. While WWII was going on the Airforce gave all their pilots hats made from squirrel hides. Evelyn once had to shoot a grizzly bear caught in a trap. She understood that hunting and trapping were part of life but she felt that traps were cruel and she never liked that story.

Speaking of bear stories, Evelyn had one of the scariest. When Mona was just 3 or 4 years old, a very large black bear broke the cabin window just above the crib where Mona was sleeping. Evelyn said she remembered screaming at it at the top of her lungs while trying to load bullets into her 30-30. Their dog Mutt was barking at it but she was so scared she couldn’t hear a sound. Luckily the window was too small or the bear was too big for it couldn’t get in and left. Alvin and his brother Ivor hunted the bear down the following day and shot it.

Evelyn was a lady who knew when not to back down. She was a Mama Bear at 5’2”. When Howard was 11 or 12, two of his childhood friends were over playing at their apartment. When their mother stopped in at around 9:00pm that night, she was drunk and mad and wanted to take them home. They were really scared to go home with their mother in that condition so Evelyn came to the door and said “no” that the kids were going to stay with her for the night until their mother sobered up. There was a lot of name calling and threats made but Evelyn wouldn’t give an inch until the mother left for the night. 30 years later, Howard’s friend dropped in out of the blue and started reminisced that this had been a turning point in his life and that Evelyn standing up for him and his brother had helped them a lot. He was happy to know she was still alive and insistent on going to see her and giving her a big hug.

Other time was when Mona and her first husband split up, and Mona came to live with Evelyn. Well, like all separations, emotions were running high. He came to see Mona and he wasn’t taking a no from Howard (age 12-14 at the time) who had answered the door. He blew right past Howard and started going upstairs to find Mona. At the top of the stairs he ran into Evelyn and she made it clear that the only way he was going to see Mona was through her. He backed down. Character lesson I (Howard) has tried to learn from his Mom, Evelyn, Grandma. Once when I was 10 or 11, I was driving Mom crazy with my whining to buy me a Mechano building set and money was tight so play toys were scarce. Anyways, we were in Kmart down town and I know I was bugging her to no end and we somehow ended up outside the store almost to the car when Mom realized we had left the store without paying for it. Well this was a bonus for me, it was FREE! But not for Mom, she marched me back in and paid for it. I try to remember that one lesson all the time “nothing is free”.  Her conscience wouldn’t allow it. That was the only thing she gave her father credit for. He was intolerant of lying and cheating. It literally scared her to do either.

Another one of my favorite memories of Mom was one night, in the winter. We were coming home in the car and it was snowing on 96^th Ave. Mom, Larry and me.  Mom stopped to help this lady who was stuck on the road. We all got out to help push, but this lady was either drunk or just wouldn’t listen to Mom or how to rock the car back and forth. Well after a couple of tries and this lady who just kept  flooring the gas pedal, this  made Mom snap, she just up and literally commands us to get into the car and leave. Well Larry and I where kind of confused because we knew we could probably push her out but Mom had enough of that lady not listening and said that lady doesn’t  our deserve help and we’re going NOW. Lesson: you can’t help those that wouldn’t take your help and advice.

Now you may ask why use the term True Grit, well to me like “Rooster Cogburn” played by John Wayne in the classic movie “True Grit” he never quit until his job was done no matter what the odds were against him. Mom also never, NEVER quit being a mother. No matter what she always was there for us kids or her immediate family or extended family, whenever she was needed to lean money, provide housing for her brother or friends, leave her job and go help with family, join a Taekwondo class to help  give her son some discipline, whatever was required she would go do it. No matter what the cost to her was. She only cared about one thing finishing the job of being the best sister, mother/grandmother to the best of her abilities. We will all miss you Mom, but I will also remember one of your favorite saying; Things could always be a whole lot worse.

A Memorial Service was held on Friday, July 6, 2018 at 1:00 pm from Reynars Funeral Chapel. Pauline Haycock officiated. Interment will follow at later date.

For friends so wishing donations may be made in memory of Evelyn to BC SPCA, 637 114 Avenue, Dawson Creek, BC V1G 3A1.

Very Respectfully Reynars Funeral Home & Crematorium