Irene Rosamond Griffiths (née Oliver)

We bid a fond farewell to our beloved Mum, Grandma, Great-Grandma, Aunty, and friend, Renee, who passed away peacefully on December 15, 2025, at Sunridge Place in Duncan, BC.

Born March 16, 1922, in Birmingham, England, Renee loved to tell stories of growing up in Mitcham, Surrey. From proudly working as a shop girl at the high-end clothier Jaeger on Regent Street, London, to the antics she shared with her sisters at the Locarno Dance Hall in Streatham during the war, Renee reminisced as though it were yesterday. Meeting her husband, Fred Mason, brought her to Winnipeg in 1946 as a war bride, where she raised her family and lived for 50 years. In 1996, Renee moved to Chemainus, BC, to be near her sister Gwen.

Wherever she landed, Renee was always the epitome of class and good taste, whether in her personal deportment, her home, or especially in the lovely gardens she created, both big and small. She enjoyed being around people and would always stop on the street to chat with anyone — she always had time.

Renee was predeceased by her loving husband, Bill Griffiths, in 2013, with whom she will finally be reunited, and by her two sisters: Grace Bugbee of Kent, England (2009), and Gwen Fitzgibbon of Chemainus (2011).

She is lovingly remembered and deeply missed by her daughters, Gwen (Gerry) Boychuk of Langley, BC, and Jill (Ken) Martin of Calgary, AB; grandchildren Suzanne Boychuk of Langley, Curtis Martin of Calgary, and Julie (Mike) Wannop of Kelowna, BC; and great-grandchildren Evie, Fox, Ruby, India, and Violet. She will also be held dearly in the hearts of her nephews Keith (Melrene) Fitzgibbon and Gary (Lynne) Fitzgibbon, and niece Cindy (Russ) Beaton, all of Duncan, BC, as well as niece Pat (Ian) Dunbar of Kent, England.

The family would like to thank the staff at Sunridge Place for the kind and compassionate care given to Renee during her two and a half years there, and VIHA Home Support for many years of loving care and assistance in her home. She always expressed sincere gratitude to all who were more than workers, but friends.

As Renee so often reminded us,

“Life is a Bowl of Cherries!”