Aug. 27, 1928 – Dec. 11, 2024

Mary Elizabeth Kendall passed away peacefully at her home in Victoria on Dec. 11, following 96 incredibly full years of family, art, social justice work and, above all, love.

Mary was born on Aug. 27, 1928 in Halifax, Nova Scotia to parents Dr. Ross William Collins and Dr. Margaret Rebecca Chase. She grew up in Edmonton, Alberta, where she played tennis, skied and took classes at a local gallery to cultivate her early interest in art.

Mary received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Alberta in 1949, and then went on to study theology and psychology at St. Stephen’s College in Edmonton because, as she put it, “it was my intention to save the world.” It was in the school’s psychology program that she met her husband, Lorne Kendall. They started as friends, but he proposed during his graduation dance in 1956, and they were married later that year. The courtship was, in her words, “a friendship caught on fire.”

Mary and Lorne had 21 years together, during which time they welcomed two sons and embarked on numerous adventures around the globe. From 1972 to 1973, they toured Russia and Europe in a motorhome, and rode camels in Egypt.

Lorne passed away in 1977.

Mary devoted her career to helping others, while blazing new trails along the way. She became involved in the Civil Rights Movement in New Jersey in the 1960s. In 1971, she graduated with a Master of Social Work from University of British Columbia, and went on to work as a social worker. In 1975, she helped open a women’s center in Coquitlam.

Mary’s other great passion in life was art. She created mixed-media pieces, woven baskets, hand-made paper and collages, and her work was featured in multiple shows and exhibits over the years. Her specialty was what she called “found art:” using seaweed, driftwood and even bits of trash to create something beautiful.

Mary’s art didn’t stop at the canvas. She turned her entire living space, and even her person, into works of art. Her collections of rocks, shells, glass bottles and other special objects covered nearly every surface of her long-time home in Port Coquitlam. She loved wearing dramatic rings and earrings that matched her outfits.

In her later years, Mary shared her art-filled home with her second love, Denis Probst. She and Denis were life partners for more than four decades, until he passed away in 2021, at the age of 98.

Mary is survived by her sons, Robert and David, her brother, Malcolm, as well as six grandchildren, 10 great-grandchildren and four great-great-grandchildren.

A funeral service will be held for Mary at 12:45 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 17 at Royal Oak Burial Park. Flowers may be sent to Royal Oak Burial Park via floweraffairs.net, or donations in lieu of flowers may be made to Amnesty International. More details about Mary’s life can be found here.

Mary will be remembered for her dedication to family and friends (many of whom she’d known and cherished since childhood), her ability to turn anything into a work of art, and her fondness for cheesecake.

She will be deeply missed.

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