February 13, 2022
In the early morning hours of February 13th, our beautiful and vibrant Mom, Maureen Gross passed away after a fierce battle with cancer. Undetected, undiagnosed, and misdiagnosed by doctors probably too worn out by COVID-19 to know or do any better, cancer had spread to her brain. By the time the signs were too shattering to ignore, it was too late.
Born in Edinburgh Scotland, Maureen immigrated to Canada and grew up on the east coast. She moved to Squamish in 1974 and retired to Nanaimo in 2000. Survived by her husband of 50 years John, children Christine and Andrea (Chris), sister Liz (Glenn), brother Rob (Cathy), best friend Fran, loving fur baby Sophie and grand-dog Bandit.
Maureen saw the potential and the purest good in everyone and
everything. She looked for and found a reason and a way to keep on going, right up until she couldn't. She loved nothing more than a good chat with a dear friend or a complete stranger turned new friend wherever she happened to be. Relentless defender of the underdog, the misunderstood and Hallmark Christmas movies, she was that person. The one who made everything just a little bit sweeter, and the world is a colder, meaner place without her. She did not want a stuffy service or funeral — instead, she wanted a raucous, rock and roll party while she was still alive where she could have one last laugh with everyone she loved. Along with her mobility, her voice and her memories, cancer robbed her of this one simple wish in the end too.
In lieu of a service and flowers: call or visit someone you miss if you can. Say a kind word or do a kind deed for a stranger. It's how she lived and what she did her whole life. Time is always so much shorter than we think, and the world needs a little more kindness and warmth now that she's gone. F@#* cancer.
