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Bev was born in the small eastern Ontario township of Prescott in November 4, 1946. She was the seventh child of Lester Poore, with older siblings June (Urquart), Carole (Lepage) Ken, Barbara (Lee) and Don. Her mother Blanche and Lester expanded their family with older brother Art and then Bev.

In the spring of 1965 she met Don at the local dance hall. Don fondly shares that he was captivated by both her beauty and energy and was bold enough to ask her for a dance. That started a 50 year love story between Bev and Don that was full of many adventures. Their partnership included a lot of laughter, light-hearted teasing and many shared experiences.

Married in 1970, Bev and Don moved to Niagara Falls in the spring of that year. In 1976 Bev had Ryan and Shannon followed sixteen months later. When asked “wasn’t it crazy to be changing two sets of diapers?”, she happily replied, “it was fun and they were cute”. Moving their young family to Burlington in 1986 she was a committed cheerleader to Ryan’s hockey and concerts and Shannon’s soccer. She subbed in once as a coach, but it ends up she was a better on the sidelines than running plays. Bev was a great cook; spoiling her family with three course meals most nights. Her cooking was always made with love and the occasional hint of profanity.

Of Bev’s many wonderful qualities, she had a gift for bringing people together. During her time in Niagara Falls, she led the Ladies Ski Club; ensuring the group was having fun, singing and had ample wine (on a chauffeured bus of course). From large functions to family dinners to the grocery store; she brought light to every social situation.

Bev and Don travelled to over 30 countries, 14 of them in the Caribbean; Bev loved the sunshine. She approached each new place with curiosity, her open heart and a willingness to try local wine.

Bev was athletic; engaging in golfing, skiing, swimming and diving. Although she was competitive, she didn’t like practicing. She would tell anyone who asked that she could beat Don at golf. She took this competitive spirit to canasta, bocci ball and even Scrabble.

In 2007 Don accepted an opportunity in British Columbia. Bev was not happy about packing up her life in Burlington, but she quickly became a convert to the warm weather and wonderful people. Ryan toured her around the new community and Bev fell in love with the Surrey YMCA. This started a wonderful chapter with her AquaFit friends and become a daily practice for 8 years.

Bev was a great listener; she was intuitive and knew when you needed to be cheered up or supported without having to say a word. She has many life-long friends who will miss her compassion, sense of fun and mischievous side.

Retiring to Brockville in 2017 to be closer to family and friends; she enjoyed the beautiful river views, balcony gardening, spending time golfing and more frequent visits from Shannon, Ryan and Amanda. She was a devoted mother and gave amazing hugs.

Bev battled cancer for the past two years and died suddenly last week. It is difficult to imagine a life without her. There are too many family and friends to name individually so we captured her story hoping that pieces will make you smile in remembrance of her - just like Bev would have wanted.

For those wishing to make a donation in memory of Bev, please consider The Brockville and Area Food Bank, your local Food Bank or a Shelter to help those in need.

Send a message of condolence or share a special thought of Bev on the Memory Wall above. Thank you.