Shirley Ann (nee Matthisen) Higgins passed away on Sunday, March 20, 2022 at Rideau Park Personal Care Home.
Ann was born to Varna (nee Wright) and Andrew Matthisen on May 24, 1935 in Morden, MB. She had two brothers and one sister: older brother Bill and younger brother Jack; her older sister Yvonne died in infancy due to Pneumonia.
At 7 years of age, Ann moved to Kenton to live with her grandparents, where she stayed until the age of 17. Her first job was as a telephone operator in Carberry. When her grandmother fell ill, she left her job to go home and care for her until her death. Ann then moved to Saskatoon where she worked as an aide in the Tuberculosis sanitarium for several years. From there she rejoined her mother in Toronto and met her husband; together they had four children. The marriage ended in separation around 1971 and she moved out on her own with her small children. She went from being a stay-at-home mom to working three jobs as a single mom; her full-time job being a worker on the assembly line at a screen factory. Life was not easy, and when the opportunity arose, she moved back to her home province of Manitoba with her kids. Within the first few years of moving to Brandon she obtained her GED, attended college and earned an accounting diploma, secured a job at Autopac and bought a house. It was important to her to keep up her faith and she and the kids attended church regularly while living in Brandon.
Ann had many visits to the farm at Hamiota to see her cousin and during those visits she met and married her cousin’s brother-in-law, which brought the family that much closer. She and Edgar were married Nov 1, 1975 and they and her four children started their life as a new family on the farm at Isabella. Soon after, the family grew by one when Jeramy was born Apr 23, 1977, completing their family. During this time, Ann sold Coppercraft at home parties and drove the school bus. They remained on the farm until the fall of 1981 when they purchased the Coop Hardware store in Hamiota and converted one side to a residence, the other side a sewing and fabric store Ann affectionately named The Sew and Sew Corner. She sold fabric, patterns and notions and did alterations and dressmaking (which she had done most of her life). She was a master crocheter and knitter and won many ribbons, most of them first place, in the local fairs over many summers.
Within a couple of years, their marriage ended, and the fabric store and building were sold. By this time Ann’s eldest two daughters had left home to start school and work. Ann moved a couple of times within Hamiota, all the while caring for seniors in her home as an alternative to them going into a personal care home.
In her early 70’s Ann began bowling regularly in the Hamiota league which took them to Minnedosa frequently to bowl. There she met Bill Campbell and soon knew he would be her life partner. Not long after meeting him, she moved to Minnedosa where she lived for 10 years until Bill’s passing. Her health was a concern and had been declining, her family felt that it would be in her best interest to move into Brandon to be closer to family. Ann lived on her own in Kin Village for a year or so until her health took a turn for the worse and she was hospitalized for three months. From there she moved into Valleyview Care Centre and then finally to Rideau Park Personal Care Home, where she had her own room and could make it her own space.
Over the years she spent hours enjoying her flowers and every year on the farm she planted and maintained a huge garden, canning and preserving everything harvested from it. She loved going to Bingo in her younger years and was always knitting or crocheting something. Being very particular about her work, she would often redo it until it was perfect. She held the same high standard for her alteration and dressmaking work.
Ann was predeceased by her parents and infant sister. She is survived by her children Susan (Sheldon) Kirk, Karen (Greg) McKay, Donna (Martin) Chapman, Gregory (Marie) Brown and Jeramy (Krista) Higgins; grandchildren Shelley (Scott) Lints, Scott (Lindsay) Kirk, Lindsay (Dan) Gwozdz, Reagan (Rory Stewart) McKay, Haley McKay, Braden, Christian and Jordan Brown, Aidan and Makayla Higgins; great grandchildren Trinity, Cowan and Ariana Lints, Austin, Taylor and Dylan Kirk, Charlie and Joey Stewart, Elise Gwozdz.
The family will cherish Ann’s memory privately.
MISS ME BUT LET ME GO
When I come to the end of the road,
And the sun has set for me,
I want no rites in a gloom-filled room,
Why cry for a soul set free?
Miss me a little,
but not too long,
And not with your head bowed low,
Remember the love that we once shared,
Miss me, but let me go.
For this is a journey that we all must take,
And each must go alone,
It's part of the master's plan,
A step on the road to home.
So when you are lonely and sick at heart,
Go to the friends we know,
And bury your sorrows in doing good deeds.
Miss me-but let me go.