Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I would like to share a few reflections of a Hay River elder and matriarch who passed away this week.
Bertha McBryan was very much a part of the fabric of Hay River. She was predeceased by her husband, Red, less than six months ago. I’m told that Red first laid eyes on Bertha when she was a young operator of a water taxi here in Yellowknife. Eight children and a lifetime later, the mark that she left on Hay River, the North and her family is truly amazing.
Bertha was a survivor. It had been about 25 years ago that her heart was failing and a “do not resuscitate” order had been placed on her medical chart at the end of her bed in the Hay River Hospital. In spite of her struggles with diabetes and having had both legs amputated, instead of slowing down it seemed that she became more active. There was not a community event, tradeshow, craft fair, Mother’s Day tea, Christmas bazaar, seniors’ event or a Saturday at the fisherman’s wharf that she did not attend. She kept her driver, Dave Jourdenais, very busy with the handivan.
She was outspoken, opinionated and followed politics very closely. Everyone assumed that Red was the only politician in the family, but Bertha followed the goings-on of the community and the territory even at the age of 87, and not much got past her. She would regularly critique the performance of MLAs in this House. Although she was a constituent of Hay River North, I had the benefit of her feedback for many years. My new colleague of Hay River North assures me that he was the recipient of Bertha’s feedback as a kid growing up in the same crescent as the McBryans, but of course, I can’t imagine Mr. Bouchard was anything but a little angel.
After Red passed, of course she missed him, but she told me that she really missed the evenings at the kitchen table talking over the events and issues of the day. She was never shy or held back her opinion. Red fondly called her Bert – the only one that I ever heard call her Bert – and they supported each other through the trials and triumphs of life and their medical challenges that come with age. She always answered the phone and just when you were expecting the usual exchange of pleasant greetings, “Bertha, how are you doing?” I would be caught off guard with, “No change,” which I always took as a good thing.
She was a very attractive woman with her jet black hair which had never been dyed. She was a proud mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and great-great-grandmother. She was predeceased by her son Michael in a motor vehicle accident in the early ‘70s. The legacy that she leaves behind is evident in her children: Mary, Joe, Maureen, Pauline, Darlene, Ronnie and Matthew. An amazing lady and an amazing life.
Her funeral will take place at the Hay River Catholic Church on December 21st at 2:00 p.m. I would ask the Assembly to join me in extending our sincere condolences to the McBryan family. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Member for Thebacha, Mr. Miltenberger.
