Bertha Louise Chambers was born on July 27, 1936, to Edward and Alice Chambers (nee Geldart) in Mechanic Settlement, Kings County, New Brunswick.
Mom was their last child, the baby of the family. The family later moved to their farm in Elgin, N.B., where mom grew up surrounded by siblings, doing her chores on the farm.
Both of our parents (Bill Sketchley) grew up on farms during the Depression. Mom worked as a cook in a cafe/diner. She also looked after children in their household. Mom was helping out a family with two small children and a newborn when she met Bill. Dad was back east from Powell River, BC (working for MacMillan Bloedel) to attend a sister’s wedding when he met Mom. He knew then that she was the woman he would marry.
Bill and Bertha married September 15, 1955, in N.B. Bill and Bertha were married 63 years before Bill passed (over 5 years ago) and spent their lives in Powell River, BC.
Mom and her friend Louis Rourke hand-quilted baby quilts for the Auxiliary to sell. Mom and Louis also knit hundreds of toques, scarves, and mitts for those in need. Bertha was a good cook and a baker. She was known for her Sunday roast beef dinners, complete with mashed potatoes, Yorkshire puddings and gravy. Mom made the best baking powder biscuits, especially her cheese biscuits. Mom made her own fondant-filled chocolates, hand-dipped, from scratch with Bill.
Bertha mourned Bill every day after he passed. Mom finally got her wish and joined Dad on Saturday, April 22, 2023. Mom went into Emergency at the end of March 2023, and within a month, she was gone. Mom went on her own terms - quickly and very peacefully.
Mom is greatly mourned by her children Ivan (Kelly), Deborah and Donna; grandchildren Lauren (Andre), Conor, Brian, Clayton (Charley), MacNeil and Shea; and two great- granddaughters, Maya and Dahlia. She is missed by her two best friends, Moyra and Margaret; sister Hilda MacPherson; in-laws Raymond Sketchley and Shirley Douthwright; and many cousins, multiple nieces and nephews, all the way to the great-great-great nephew.
Our most sincere and heartfelt thanks to Mom’s health-care providers - the doctors and nursing staff at St. Paul’s CICU and Cardiac Care Unit, qathet General
Hospital Emergency and 4th Floor, and Mom’s family doctor for over 30 years, Dr. Schweitzer. All so very kind, caring, and compassionate.
There will be a Celebration of Life towards the end of August, beginning of September.
