EVA EMILY BRIANT

With strength of spirit, Eva Briant passed away Friday, Oct. 1, 2010 at the Grace Hospital.
Born to Mary Elizabeth (Donning) and Septimus Ainsworth, who homesteaded in Crichton, Sask., Eva was one of seven siblings.
The family moved to Alexander, Man., where Eva went to school. After graduating as a registered nurse from Dauphin General Hospital School of Nursing, she married Orland Van Norman Farrell.
Their daughter, Pat, was born during the war and when Orland returned from active service as an RCAF flight lieutenant, they moved to Morris, Man., where he practised law.
During her Morris years, Eva was very active in the United Church and there donated many hours of volunteer work. Creative and skillful, she was instrumental in ensuring the Morris skating club had the costumes it required.
When Orland died, Eva took a refresher course in nursing at Vancouver General Hospital, following which she and Pat moved to Dauphin, Man., where she was the operating room supervisor for many years.
During the last weeks of her life, she said she was so proud to be a nurse and that she loved her time in the operating room. She spent many hours creating an operating room manual for use by nurses and other staff in the OR.
On New Year’s evening in 1963, when she had just climbed into bed, her sister-in-law phoned and convinced her to come to the dinner and dance at the Legion and that someone would be sent to fetch her. After much persuading, she agreed.
 The person that came to get her was George Frederick Briant and just a few months later they were married. George brought his children, Rosemary, Bob, Gloria, and Wanda, into the family.
Eva and George had many happy years together visiting children, relatives, and friends across Canada. In addition to yearly road trips, one of their great passions was camping and fishing, and this continued when they retired and moved to Winnipeg, Man.
Towards the end of her life, when she was in a nursing home and confined to a wheelchair, she often would say to George, “Let’s go fishing.” And he always replied, “We will.”
Eva was known for her wicked sense of humour and she never lost this even towards the end of her life. Her contributions to her family were many. In addition to her faithful love and loyalty, we all appreciated her wonderful gifts of Easter bunny buns and her delicious food contributions to our yearly Farrell/Nuttall Christmas parties.
Together with George, her daughter, Pat, son-in-law, Gary, and family, Eva enjoyed years of wintering in Sarasota, Fla. and also many summers spent in the “upper cabin” on Rainy Lake in Fort Frances, Ont.
And when we all were living in Winnipeg, rarely a Sunday passed without getting together for brunch or dinner. Our family photo albums are rich with memories of these moments together.
Eva enjoyed the experiences of being at her grandchildren’s weddings and, later, cuddling her great-grandchildren. She was known as G’ma to Jack and Aria and as Great Grandma to Ace, Max, and Blake.
After a July, 2010 visit, Ace remarked, “Great Grandma doesn’t look that old.” She was 98. And she, indeed, was a beautiful woman, inside and out, all of her life.
Eva was predeceased by her parents; her siblings, Jack, Jim, Harry, Lou, Tom, and Bill; her husband, Orland; daughter, Rosemary; and grandson, Dale (her special friend).
Left to remember her love and loyalty are husband, George; daughter, Pat (Gary); daughters, Gloria and Wanda (Bill); son, Bob (Kathy); grandchildren, Laurie (Don), Mark (Sylvia), Greg (Heather), Andrea, Patrick, Heather, Cara Joy, and Mylee; nephew, Clive; nieces, Susan and JoAnn; and all of her wonderful great-grandchildren.
No formal service will be held.
Condolences may be sent to www.thomsoninthepark.com