Freda Levene Grover

GROVER, Freda Levene (Porter)

Survived by husband of 70 years Harold B. Grover of Lakeville, Kings County, Nova Scotia.

Born Aylesford, NS, May 2, 1929 – Died at home Lakeville, Kings, NS, November 6, 2015

Started working early in life and by the time she was 16 and World War II was coming to an end, she married and raised five children: Patricia (Grover Dix), Theresa (Zinck Burley) (Brian), Jamie (Jane), Russell (Heidi), and Richard.

After her children were old enough to safely fend for themselves, she went back to work.  During her working career, she always enjoyed working and helping other people.   Some of the places she worked include Scotian Gold and Towers Department Store in New Minas.  During her 13 years at Towers as a department manager, she won many contests for her creative displays.

She and her husband, Harold, travelled extensively, much of it by motor home, and some of it with her daughter and son-in-law, Terry and Chuck Zinck, playing golf along the way.  She was constantly learning, doing the crossword puzzles in the daily newspaper with her husband, or baking items for resale to make extra money to spend on others she felt were less fortunate than she was.

She was an excellent cook and noted for her 11-layer salad, chili, molasses cookies, mud pies (cookies), breads and cinnamon rolls.  She loved Christmas with all its decorations, lights, gift-opening and feasting.  She was very conscious of ritual always wanting to honour a birthday or holiday with the sharing of food, a card, a gift.  She was known for not forgetting a grand-child or great-grand-child’s birthday with a card.  She was generous always wanting to please, making favourite foodstuffs whenever she knew one of her children would be visiting during a meal time.  She constantly kept learning and kept trying new experiences throughout her life.

She was predeceased by her father Manson Caleb Porter, mother Alice Marie Smythe Phinney Porter, half-brother Luther Phinney (Leona), half-sisters Irene Phinney Porter Lynch (Donald), Reta Phinney, Ruby (twin) Buzzell (USA), Pearl "Rose" (twin) Eydeut (USA), Annie Lambert (Eugene) (USA); full sisters Esther Sanford (Cecil), Florence Bowser (Jack), Ulrica (Ricky) MacIntosh, Etta Dempsey (Joe), Vera Porter; full brothers Leonard (Norma), LeRoy (Gladys), Harry (Maude "Tiny").  She was also predeceased by brother-in-law, Percy Morton Grover, sister-in-law Mary (Ewing), brothers-in-law Benjamin Downey Grover, Lawrence Bigelow and Russell Stewart.   She is survived by one brother, Charles Leander Porter (Glenne), one brother-in-law, Harry MacIntosh, sisters-in-law Carol Grover, Emily Bigelow and Shirley Stewart.  She had pictures of all her grand-children, Carol-Anne Stevenson LoPresti, Angela Zinck Pallet (Drew), Stephen (Elinor) and Sarah (Kipp Ells), Michael, Kristina and Robert, Shawn and Travis on the fridge door and pictures of the great-grandchildren were in calendars, also on the fridge door, and in the living room on walls and mantel places.  She knew all their names, being Danielle and Sabrina, Jacob and Jordan, Kelsey and Ryan, Cameron, Thomas and Alexander, Madysin and Aubrey.  Those living nearby visited often.  She was the matriarch of our family.  She will no longer have to bear the pains of arthritis, taking daily insulin needles, the sleepless nights, or the congested lungs and weak heart.  She is free.  We loved her and her presence is deeply missed.