Audrey Sylvia Peppler (nee Porte)

Oct. 19, 1926 – August 18, 2024. Audrey passed away peacefully 2 months short of her 98th Birthday. Born in Plum Coulee, Manitoba she was the 3rd of what would be 5 children of Albert and Ida Porte. Raised on a farm, she learned to play the piano beautifully. Her mother's love of hearing Audrey play excused her from chores, to her sister Joyce's chagrin. The sisters remained bonded singing harmony while washing dishes together. Later with her own home she danced as she cleaned and made pie crusts with a flakey perfection. She learned to sew, and loved making her mother's and her own clothes from remnants, birthing a lifetime of love for fashion. At 21 she moved to the big city of Winnipeg. Putting herself through business school as an usherette, and then later as a telephone operator for CKY radio, she met Calvin, a veteran WWII Spitfire pilot and coworker. Their love took flight and they married in Banff, and began raising a family. Moving with the times and enjoying different cities in Canada, they ultimately settled in Ontario, cottaging on Hunstville's Lake Vernon, with equal time in The Beach in Toronto She again joined Calvin working together after the last of her 3 children was off to college. She ended her working life as a receptionist at a clothing manufacturer. Embracing technology throughout her life, Audrey learned how to use and troubleshoot her computer. She became her husband’s projectionist for high school presentations when he spoke about his experience during WWII. When a family newspaper was established, Audrey frequently contributed, sharing monthly publications of family stories. She enjoyed the use of the first digital camera manufactured, taking pictures on her daily walks. When they both retired, Audrey and Cal bought an RV and spent the next 10 years travelling the country, visiting relatives and enjoying the adventures that only a secondhand RV can offer. Audrey and Calvin shared 63 happy years of marriage before Calvin's passing in 2015. Audrey carried on learning how to use a tablet in her late 80's, sharing daily e-mails and completing online crossword puzzles. She moved to her own apartment in 2018, embracing her little space and continuing to enjoy her self- sufficiency, walking without a walker, using an exercise bike to iron out stiff kinks in her knees. Audrey was a quiet, peaceful soul who devoured books and loved to walk. Predeceased by her son Geoffrey in 2021, Audrey is survived by her daughter Dawn Barbieri (Joe); grandsons Daniel (Saki) and Anthony; daughter Sandra Peppler (Mark Bartlett), brother-in-law Barry Mulvenny, and many nieces and nephews