Obituary of Brenda Joyce Mary Skolos

It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of Brenda, after a long and very
determined battle with cancer. She has left us to join her beloved husband Roy who passed in
June of 2018.

Brenda was born to Paul and Helen (nee Margraf ) Laible in Winnipegosis, Manitoba, and
spent her early years on the Laible farm. School years were marked by several moves before
her family settled in Aldergrove, B.C. There she would meet lifelong friends and her future
husband Roy. They married October 1966 and welcomed their only child Anna-Marie in
December 1967.

Brenda was hard worker all her life. She started part-time work at age 11. After graduating
from high school she gained employment in banking and quickly became head teller.
Working at this job in downtown Vancouver encouraged her sense of style. Forever after, she
was rarely without lipstick and almost always wore high heels. Brenda continued in banking
after moving with the family to Flin Flon, Manitoba (1969) and later to Thompson, Manitoba
(1974). She excelled; became an accountant, then a branch manager. This was in an era when
it was extremely rare for women to hold these positions. Having conquered that, she gave up
her banking career to embark on the new challenge of running her own business. She had knit
her first sweater four years earlier; based on that and the confidence that she could “learn on
her feet”, she opened a successful yarn & craft store in 1975.

In 1978 the travel bug bit. Brenda made the plans and everything in northern Manitoba was left behind to explore Europe for a year with Roy and Anna-Marie. What an adventure!
Upon return to Canada, Brenda and Roy were looking for new opportunities to work together
as business owners. They purchased B&B Glass and the family settled in Kimberley, B.C. There
were many challenges but Brenda and Roy were a team that always persevered, they even
added to the workload by running the Sears Catalogue outlet. They put in long hours but also
made time for fun. Workdays brought many laughs with employees, suppliers, and customers,
but the best part of the day was usually meeting friends for lunch. The majority of their free
time was spent on anything to do with cars, especially working on race cars and road trips to
race tracks. Many kilometers/miles were travelled and if Brenda was riding shot-gun you could
be sure the stereo was blasting! Brenda had a deep appreciation for music, particularly live
events (Metallica was her absolute favorite band-she saw them 3 times!).

Unfortunately breast cancer barged into her life at age 54 and intruded again 13 years later.
She was a true warrior but never considered herself out of the ordinary. She just bought a wig,
then carried on…working, travelling, caring for others, and usually looking fabulous while
doing it. This was truly her nature.

When the time came to retire, Brenda and Roy were most generous in passing their business
along with their knowledge down to Anna-Marie’s spouse Brian. Of course retirement did
not slow Brenda down; she continued to keep her mind and hands busy. She was a tireless
volunteer for the Kimberley Hospital Auxiliary Thrift Store. But above all else Brenda loved spending time with her grand-daughter Josephine.

Brenda was an amazing, strong, inspiring, and generous soul who has touched many lives.
Her home was her heart and it was open to all who came…family, friends, fosters, and rescued
pets. There was a special place in her life for international students. She thoroughly enjoyed
being a “Host Mother” for 30 years and loved to hear from former students, with some even
coming back for visits.

Brenda will be dearly missed. She leaves to mourn her daughter Anna-Marie (Brian Bova),
grand-daughter Josephine, mother Helen Laible, sister Diane Burton, niece Amanda Webb
(Mike and their daughter Dakota), nephew Duncan Burton (Kim Tamblyn), in-laws Starla and
Vic Kowal and Colleen and Alyn Jensen, nephews Chet (Claire) Skolos and Grant Skolos along
with many more good friends and relatives.

The family would like to express our gratitude for the care and support received from so many
different people, departments and programs throughout Brenda’s journey. A special thank
you goes to Dr Buddo, Home Support, and most notably the staff in the Oncology Department
at East Kootenay Regional Hospital.

A Celebration of Life will be held for both Brenda and Roy in the summer of 2020 with date and details to be
announced once decided. 

For those who would like to donate in Brenda’s memory please do so through the East Kootenay Foundation for Health (1-877-489-6481 or www.ekfh.ca). Funds will be directed to the
Oncology Department.

Condolences for the family may be offered at: www.mcphersonfh.com