It is with great sadness that, we, the family, wish to announce the death of our remarkable and beloved mother, Julia Stella Ann (Scott) Kennah on Sunday, April 3, 2022, at Villa Sormany in Robertville, NB, at the wise old age of 97+. She was better known as Scotty to many many people and will be missed by all of us in ways that only we can know.
Mom was the last of her family to pass on. Her father, James Scott, her mother, Annie Doyle Scott, and her nine siblings, Arthur (Father Scott), Walter, Jimmy, Billy, Gerald, Alvin, Eileen, Annie, Leona, all went before her. And so did the love her life, Cletus, with whom she celebrated 72 years of marriage in May of 2020. She leaves behind all six of her children – Mary-Ellen, Susan (Colin), Lyn (Jamie), Scott (Tina), Greg (Yanina), Jeff (Betty). There are grandchildren and great grandchildren as well: Tony, Andy, Nate; Michael and Carolyn ; Alex, Eugene, Juniper; Eavan, Maggie; Peter and Aidan. There are so many other friends and relatives who knew and loved Stella and her memory will live on. She loved us all.
Scotty was a woman ahead of her time. She left home as a teenager to become a residential student at the convent school in Tracadie, travelling to and from Bartibog with the mailman and his horse and buggy. She quickly adjusted to an environment, language, and culture that were not familiar to her. She took it in stride and successfully graduated as Salutatorian of her high school class of 1941. From there, she went on to Saint Thomas University, which, at that time, was located in Chatham. And it was here that she met, Cletus, her husband to be. She graduated in 1947 with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing which allowed her to advance in her career as a professional, from general duty nurse to hospital education and administration here in Bathurst. But, she will be remembered most fondly as that nurse who helped so many women learn how to hold, feed, and care for their newborn child which is what she enjoyed doing the most.
Mom devoted herself to her profession but always managed to run a house hold , sew, cook, clean, garden, volunteer, and raise six kids in between her nursing shifts. She was an active member of the Irish Cultural Association and the C.W.L. and helped cook and serve- up many a meal in the kitchen of the Knights of Columbus hall. She was a great supporter of the MS Society and helped all and any she could. Scotty was an activist in her own right and helped to establish a nurses’ union in the province travelling around in secret educating and organizing her fellow nurses. She was a proud member of the New Brunswick Nurses Association all of her working days and gave of herself in so many ways.
Scotty was not “all work and no play”, however. She loved to cross country ski in the winter and golf in the summer. Fishing off the bridge at the camp up river was her favorite thing to do and she always caught something. A Sunday drive to her family farm on the Miramichi to see Nanny Scott and all the relatives up and down the road was a regular occurrence. She loved to dance, sing, play the piano and the organ, laugh, make jokes, lend a hand, and treat others with kindness. Even in the last stages of the illness that robbed her of so much, she was able to say something kind, even if, at the very end, it was only a feeble thank you. These are the things we will remember the most about our mother. There are no words left to describe the loss we feel after having known and loved her for all these years. She lives on in our hearts; she was the sunshine of our lives.
The family would like to extend a very special thank you to the staff at the Villa Sormany for caring so lovingly for mom in her last few days. They had only good things to say about their Stella and shared some of their memories of her with us.
There will be no visitation at the funeral home. A memorial service will be held on Thursday August 11, 2022 at 2 p.m. from Elhatton's Funeral Home Chapel. Arrangements are now in the care of Elhatton’s Funeral Home (www.elhatton.com), Bathurst.
As a living gesture, in her memory, we would like to invite you to donate to the fund at the Villa Sormany which is hoping to raise enough money to purchase a swing that will accommodate residents in their wheelchairs so they can go outside and enjoy the simple pleasures of life: Fondation de la Villa Sormany Inc. Mom would love that!
