Obituary of Vivienne Appleyard

A Life Well Lived by A Woman Well Loved Three weeks late and in the middle of the cold damp night of April 5th, 1927 the third child of Herbert James and Adela Mae (Case) Richards made her grand entrance in Portland-Dorset, England. And 90 years later on April 14th, 2017 at the DECH in Fredericton, while surrounded by family she passed from earth to Heaven thus concluding a beautiful life. As a small child growing up in Portland, England she was a much adored brown eyed, dimple cheeked little girl with long brown wavy hair. Her father lovingly referred to her as 30% pure sugar, 60% stubbornness and 10% mischief and throughout her life, those that knew her well would attest that this recipe was very likely quite accurate though they may sometimes question the low percentage of mischief. In 1945 while studying to become a nursery school nurse, Vivienne attended a local dance and to her parent’s initial displeasure she met a handsome sailor named Raymond Percy Appleyard. And as they both often like to say they were “instantly smitten with one another” and by March 1946 they were married. Together they continued to dance their way through a beautiful long life and a marriage spanning 65 years and filled with great adventures. One of the first major adventures involved setting sail from London to Canada with “nothing but 2 cases and 200 quid” between them with a goal of starting a new life on their own. From coast to coast they moved as a career in the Navy saw Raymond moving back and forth. Not one to sit idly by and wait for her sailor to return Vivienne took up careers as a children’s nurse, a licensed realtor, a professional hairdresser and as a children’s personal support worker. Vivienne and Raymond were blessed with three children Gary, Lynn and Wayne and together they endured the sudden and unexpected losses of both of their sons with Gary having passed in infancy and Wayne in 1989. Vivienne and Raymond were avid travellers having spent time in many spots around the globe with favourites including Spain, Cyprus and Florida. For the majority of their adult lives they settled in Amherst, Nova Scotia and Vivienne spent a great deal of time working for the Children’s Aid Society as well as breeding bull mastiffs through her kennels Vi-Ray Kennels. Vivienne’s greatest joy, aside from loving Ray came from becoming a grandmother. From teaching her grandchildren to swim to forcing them to eat brussel sprouts. Vivienne was, for all intents and purposes, a doting grandmother. She showered her grandchildren with an abundance of love but wasn’t shy about the value of a good old fashioned swat on the bottom of a misbehaving child. And as much as she loved being a grandmother she was doubly delighted to live a life long enough that enabled her to form close bonds with a whole new generation of great grandchildren. As is the case with lives so often filled by great joys, they are accompanied by times of great sorrow. While the loss of her sons was soul-crushing Vivienne and Raymond had always faced their losses together. But sadly, nothing could have prepared Vivienne for her beloved Raymond to become stricken with Alzheimers. She lovingly cared for him throughout his lengthy illness and a large part of her died along side of him upon his passing in 2011. But nevertheless, as her father had long ago known, her original recipe included a huge percentage of stubbornness and it was this stubbornness that helped her to carry on through the remaining years. While human nature would expect us to mourn and be sad at our loss, let us be continuously reminded that Vivienne lived a life that was filled with joy, adventure and accomplishments. She didn’t leave behind an unfinished bucket list, she lived and loved and was loved in return. Vivienne was the last remaining member of her immediate family having been predeceased by her parents and her siblings John, Adela and Ethne. She is survived by her daughter Lynn Byers and grandchildren Nadine Lockhart Byers (partner Kevin and her daughters Victoria, Cora and Marrina) and Monique Trenholme Byers (partner Ian and children Daniel, Colin, Lily, Nicholas and Elliott) and Wayne’s children Michelle Smith (her husband Mark and their daughters Rebecca, Kira and Hannah), Michael Appleyard (his wife Krista and their daughter Kylie) and Craig Appleyard (his wife Karie and their daughters Ella and Grace). At her request, there will be no visitation and no public funeral. Memorial donations if desired may be made to Greenhill Lake Camp. A private family service will take place in Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia. Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to York Funeral Home, 302 Brookside Drive, Fredericton, NB. Personal condolences may be offered through www.yorkfh.com