MARIAN AILEEN KNOX (nee DOW)
5 July 1928, Crane Valley SK – 12 December 2021, Cochrane AB
The world lost a bit of its colour and spark when our beautiful, feisty and resilient mom, Marian, slipped peacefully away on 12 December 2021. Home at last.
Marian was born in Crane Valley, Saskatchewan to Les and Victoria Dow. The youngest of three daughters, she spent her early years in Crane Valley and Assiniboia, where her father, a pharmacist, owned the Dow Pharmacy. At one point the family lived above the local Chinese restaurant, thus initiating a lifetime fondness for Chinese food and Mah Jong. Her childhood was filled with a close-knit network of Aunts, Uncles, cousins, “friends that were family”, and dogs. There were always dogs.
Marian excelled at school and could have attended university when she completed grade 12 at age 16 but she instead went to work in the local bank, like her sisters, Florence and Doris. Age 16 marked another important milestone for Marian: it was then that she met her future husband, local farmer George Knox, at a dance. Marian proved to be a bit shy at that first meeting: in fact, she ran away home. But George was smitten. He persevered and thus began a lifetime love. They were married in 1947 in Moose Jaw SK and set up house in and around Assiniboia.
Son Rick was born in 1951, followed by daughters Kathryn (1953) and Tracy (1961). In 1963 Marian and George joined the exodus west and moved to Alberta, buying an acreage at Bottrel, where Marian’s eldest sister, Doris Bishop, and husband Ole had moved several years earlier. Arriving in February, the family of six (including labrador Tana) lived in a one-bedroom bunkhouse at the Bishop farm, with no indoor bathroom and no running water, while George built a new house on the hill.
The family moved to Calgary in 1967, choosing to live in Charleswood: close to lifetime friends Hank and Phyllis Ellert and family. This proximity facilitated possibly the longest running series of weekly games of gin rummy and “marbles” ever seen, with “the girls” perpetually pitted against “the boys”. It also helped kick off George’s and Hank’s wine- and “swish-” making hobbies, possibly out of necessity.
The years rolled by and Marian’s life was busy with a diverse collection of interests and activities: Girl Guide leader, basket weaving, Chinese cooking, ceramics, square dancing, Latin dancing, jigsaw puzzles, the Expert crossword and logic problems. Summer holidays saw the family trailer camping and happy-houring throughout Alberta, BC and the northwestern US with Marian’s sister Florence Odsen and husband Vern. She was a skilled navigator and tour guide but helping George park the trailer was not her strong suit – or maybe that was just her mischievous sense of humour. Mountain passes and elevated bridges also proved challenging and for those she could usually be found lying on the backseat.
She finally attended University, in her 50’s, taking calculus, economics, astronomy, and various computer languages “for fun”. She of course excelled at all, getting perfect GPAs, while daughter Tracy relied on her mother’s tuition to achieve a passing grade in calculus. Meanwhile Mom became a computer geek before the term was coined. She acquired one of the first Commodore 64 PCs and then promptly reprogrammed it to go faster. She dragged us all into the internet age and was the person everyone called for tech support. Her advice typically started with “go to the DOS prompt”…... She loved keeping spreadsheets of baseball statistics and of household expenses for their income tax.
Marian and George traveled extensively. Their first trip to Hawaii in the winter of 1977 with Florence and Vern, Doris and Ole and a large group of people from the Cochrane area was such a roaring success – helped along by booze cruises and liar’s dice - it became an annual event for more than a decade. They also visited Mexico and Antigua and made many trips to Las Vegas and Southern California (indulging mom’s passion for baseball – inherited from her father - going to see her beloved San Francisco Giants several times). Texas, Hong Kong, Australia, Vietnam and Shanghai also featured. Locally they enjoyed many trips to casinos in and around Calgary with the Ellerts and Balauxs. Mom could squeeze nearly a whole day’s play out of the 5-cent slot machines on a $20 limit and sometimes even broke even.
In 2005, Marian and George returned to live at Bottrel. This was, of course, against all logic – who moves BACK to the farm in their 80’s?? - but once Marian had decided on a particular course of action, it usually happened. There she started every day – all year round - walking her beloved dog Jeff down to “the campground” on the creek. She also kept busy by keeping George busy with all manner of farm improvement/maintenance projects. They especially enjoyed the summers when many celebratory gatherings of family and friends were held around the campfire next to the creek. Son Rick and granddaughter Lee also lived at the farm in the “little house” during this time, and Marian and George loved watching Lee grow up and spend her first few years of school at Westbrook School.
Marian’s enduring legacy is the message that “girls can do anything boys can do” and that getting an education is essential – especially for girls. Her other sage advice includes: “a man is not a financial plan”, and “a day without wine is like a day without sunshine”. Most of all we will miss her spirited sense of humour and the twinkle in her eyes. Neither of which ever deserted her completely.
After George passed away in July 2015 Marian stayed at Bottrel, with the help of live-in carers Casey Maguire and Ronnie Azarse. In August 2016 she moved into long term care. It truly took a village to care for mom these past years and we are very grateful to the entire team at Bethany Cochrane, led by Monica Johnson. Their patience and care has been appreciated more than we can say. A special mention also to Marian’s long time GP Dr. Dennis Fundytus and to Nurse Practitioner Tammy Rogers.
And to “Marian’s Angels” – Marie-Linda Plante and Shannon Lappin – we extend our heartfelt thanks. Your love and commitment to mom have been such a gift to her and to her family. We couldn’t’ have asked for better “proxy daughters”.
Marian is survived by her children Rick Knox, Kathryn Knox (Ty Josdal) and Tracy Berger (Gavan Langerak); granddaughter Lee Knox; brother-in-law Doug Knox and family; the Odsen family; the Ellert family; and more nieces, nephews and friends spread far and wide.
Due to Covid and the tyranny of distance, Marian’s Celebration of Life will take place at a future time. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to her favourite charity: the Cochrane and Area Humane Society http://www.cochranehumane.com/ Meanwhile, Marian would approve if you raised your glass in a toast to her life, especially if it’s accompanied by some Willie Nelson or Hawaiian tunes.
Messages of Condolence may be left for the family at www.cochranecountryfuneral.com
