Patricia Anne Clatworthy
(nee STRATTON)
September 2, 1949 – July 7, 2022
Anne Clatworthy passed away peacefully at the Palliative Care Ward of St. Boniface Hospital on July 7, 2022, with her husband, children and grandchildren at her bedside. Anne's death followed a long (22 year) battle with breast cancer.
Anne was born in Chatham, Ontario, the second of six children born to Joan and Darrell Stratton. For most of her childhood and teen years she lived in the village of Sombra, Ontario on the St. Clair River. She attended high school in Wallaceburg, Ontario (1964 to 1968) where she met Stewart, her husband. They were married in 1972.
Following high school graduation, Anne completed nursing school at St. Joseph's Hospital in London, Ontario (Class of 1970) and soon after began a career as a Registered Nurse. Reflecting her interests in and love of children, she spent the next 47 years working as a nurse on pediatric wards in London, Kingston and eventually Winnipeg. Much of her nursing career was spent at the Children's Hospital of Winnipeg. She retired from the nursing profession in 2017.
Anne and Stewart had four children, Stephen (wife Julie), Samuel (predeceased), Ruth (husband Chris) and Nathan, all residing in Winnipeg. Children and family were always at the center of Anne's life and she kept in touch with her parents, siblings, children and grandchildren, Grayce and Leah on a regular basis. Although residing in a different province, Anne attended many family gatherings with her parents and siblings. She and Stewart also hosted family dinners weekly with their children and grandchildren for many years. She went to great lengths to ensure that she remained an active part of their lives.
Anne travelled frequently not only to visit family in southwestern Ontario, but also for leisure and to explore and experience life elsewhere. Her travels spanned Canada from coast to coast, most of the central and eastern American states and the Caribbean. She quite enjoyed the island of Cuba which she visited often, so often in fact that she was for years greeted by her friends in Cuba with "welcome home".
In addition to work and family, Anne had many other interests and passions. One was clearly chocolate, although there were lots of others. She enjoyed doing crosswords, puzzles, playing cards and board games with her children and grandchildren. She was an avid reader throughout her life and although she read a wide variety of subject matter, she particularly enjoyed science fiction and fantasy novels. Over the course of her life, she accumulated a very large book collection. Anne also loved to crochet in her spare time and produced hundreds of hats, scarves, shawls, afghans and baby blankets. She rarely used a pattern, so most of the items were one of a kind. Many were gifted to friends and family, but she would also take a stack of baby blankets to Children's Hospital periodically as anonymous gifts for mothers whose newborns were in hospital care.
She and Stewart also developed and nurtured a large backyard garden dominated by her favourite flower, lilies. Neighbours and passers-by often stop by or peak over the back-lane fence to view the annual show of colour in July and August.
Anne was a person of very strong character who managed to get through some very difficult experiences. The most significant was the death of her second oldest child, Samuel, at age 19 following a two-year battle with cancer. Anne provided nursing and home care to Sam throughout his illness. His death greatly affected the entire family, but Anne managed to preserve and strengthen the family's bonds. In hindsight, her actions and commitment in relation to the well-being of Sam and other members of the family were nothing short of remarkable.
Anne's family would like to thank Dr. Pat Harris and the staff of Grace Cancer Care for the excellent care and support Anne received over the past three years and to the staff at St. Boniface Palliative Care ward who provided support during Anne's final day of life. Special thanks to Anne's close friends, Liz and Sherri, who visited Anne regularly during her illness. She truly cherished those visits.
As per Anne's wishes, cremation has taken place. A family graveside service will take place this fall at the family plot in Sombra, Ontario.
As the family is well fed and Anne's gardens are coming into full bloom, in lieu of food or flowers, the family asks that donations in Anne's memory be made to Cancer Care Manitoba, Children's Cancer Research Fund or another charity of their choice.
Branch & Pyre Cremation Care