Nonie was born July 8, 1946 in Abbotsford, and passed away peacefully at her home in Chilliwack, with her family by her side, after a short but courageous battle with cancer.
Nonie is survived by her loving family, best friend and companion Jim Boa; daughters, Tracy (Jason) Hay, and Tara (Jim) Toop; grandchildren, Taia and Carson; sister Sue (Ken) March; nephew Charlie (Tiffany) March; and mother Margaret Nemechuk.
She is predeceased by her father Robert (Bob) Parberry; stepfather Andy Nemechuk; and ex-husband and friend Adrian Brandes.
Her love for fashion and new and funky trends drew her to a lifelong career as a hairdresser. Her career as a hairdresser spanned for then 35 years working at Silk Cut and Terebera. She began to use her experience to teach others about 10 years ago when she took a job as an instructor at the Valle School of Beauty. Over the years, the owner became a very close friend and confidant. Her students, as well as the clientele, knew her as Miss Nonie. She loved teaching and she was thrilled to see her students excel.
She had many clients and friends whom she felt a close and deep connection. She loved to travel with Jim and their friends and see new and different places around the world. She especially loved her annual outings with her girlfriends to different spas. She enjoyed taking their motorhome and going camping on the weekends to their property.
Family was extremely important to her and she cherished these people as if they were gifts. She was extremely close to her daughters. She was a concerned and loving mother who was always there when we needed her. Unselfish and understanding, she always gave us room to make our own mistakes and learn from them. She was very generous and she lavished us with enough love to easily last us the rest of our lives. She was a doting grandmother who loved to spend time with her grandchildren, playing, baking, or just watching them as they learned new things. Her family and friends knew her as an amazingly strong and giving woman who stayed in charge of her life to the very end.
A Celebration of her Life will be held at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 23, 2003 at 44732 Lancaster Dr.
A special thank you to her family doctor and friend, Dr. Tom Hopkins, his amazing staff; Diane and Tammy; the wonderful nurses at the Surrey Cancer Centre; and all her close friends that supported her.
In lieu of flowers, donations in Nonie’s memory may be made to the Canadian Cancer Society.
She will never truly leave us, for her spirit lives on in everyone who knew and loved her.
Love you mom, forever and always.