Obituary of Ann Tracey

Watch Live Stream of Service at https://www.ustream.tv/embed/recorded/113634051?html5ui

It is with great sadness and heavy hearts that we said good bye to an amazing wife, mom, Nana and friend on March 9 at Royal University Hospital in Saskatoon with Peter and Jennifer by her side. Ann is survived by her loving husband Peter, daughter Jennifer (Mitch) and adoring grandchildren Jacob, Addison and Elijah Lowe. She is predeceased by her father John Walker, mother Mary Walker, uncle Stan Walker and sister in law Ann Wiles.

Ann was born in Coventry, England on March 27, 1949 to Mary and John Walker. She had a fun and rebellious childhood, always finding ways to drive her mother mad either by wearing bikinis to the local pool or hiking up her school uniform skirt to above the knees when she got around the corner from her house before school in the morning. As a teenager Ann loved showing off the latest fashions that she often sewed herself. Ann has always been known for her style and keen fashion sense.

Ann moved to Leicester for University where she lived on campus with her dear friend Shirley who eventually introduced Ann to her husband Peter. She completed her teacher training in 1969 in Leicester and had many fond memories of her time spent there. After training, Ann moved to Derby to teach and then eventually to Nottingham.

On December 30, 1971 Ann married Peter at the Town Hall in Coventry with a small group of close friends and family present. Always unconventional, Ann wore a floral print dress and had a black and red winter coat for her wedding. Peter and Ann spent many wonderful years together travelling, walking and adventuring.

In 1976, Ann and Peter took on one of their greatest adventures and moved to Saskatoon from their lives in England. They always shared fond memories of all of the support they received from new friends they met in Saskatoon and the welcome and hospitality one can only experience from true Saskatchewan people. They settled into lives they loved here despite the bitter cold Saskatchewan winters.

In December 1980, Ann and Peter had their first and only daughter Jennifer who brought another level of joy and adventure to their lives! Since moving to Canada, Ann, Peter and now Jennifer would spend their summers either hosting family from England or travelling to England to spend their summers with family. Many great memories were made during these years.

Ann was an amazing teacher. Former students would always be coming up and saying “hello Mrs. Tracey do you remember me?”. She also found many of her closest friends during her time teaching. Ann had many talents and hobbies but is most well known for her amazing garden where she spent many hours tending to her plants and was one of her favourite places to be. She was also a fantastic artist who painted mostly water colour flowers and landscapes and in recent years began to experiment with different mediums of art; but Ann’s favourite way to spend her time was to be with her grandchildren. Jacob, Addison and Eli were the rays of sunshine in her life and she would call up several times a week to take them out, babysit and take a very active role in her grandchildrens lives. She helped raise her grandchildren from newborns to the outstanding young people they are today.

Ann retired from teaching in 2003 but was never out of things to do! Always an active member of her community Ann was a part of several groups and clubs including a book club, clothing club and bridge club. She developed and maintained many special friendships over the years having been involved with so many different communities in Saskatoon. Ann was a part of the board for the Saskatoon Preschool Foundation, a charity which was near and dear to her heart where she was able to do work to help young people have access to the education they deserve and need. As a part of a group called Delta Kappa Gamma, Ann helped to bring Education to young women on the other side of the globe. One of Ann’s favourite things to help organize was a party held on the first teaching day after summer break. The celebration was for retired teachers and was called “To Hells with Bells”. Always a favourite for her to organize and attend!

Ann spent a lot of time in her retirement years with her husband Peter travelling. They were able to go to many areas of Europe on walking tours and often it was hard to keep track of where they had travelled and where they were going next! Ann would also spend many weeks in England throughout the year in June and September to take care of her mother Mary who only recently passed away in October of 2017 at the age of 98. During her time there Ann developed and maintained many wonderful friendships.

Over the last year and a half Ann fought a long and courageous battle against cancer. She was so positive and optimistic through her entire journey. She was truly an inspirational woman, an irreplaceable spirit. The love, happiness and vibrancy of Ann will be missed by all who knew her; but we can be comforted knowing that she is at peace.

A celebration of Ann’s incredible life will take place on Thursday March 15 at 1:30pm at Saskatoon Funeral home, tea will be served at the Edward's Family Center.

If you are able to attend please dress in something colourful for Ann’s celebration to help reflect her colourful zest for life.

In lieu of flowers Ann would have loved if you would consider donating to the Saskatoon Preschool Foundation.