Audrey Marlene Connery

Audrey Marlene Connery
Forever in Our Hearts
October 5, 1939 to September 7, 2024

Audrey Marlene Connery (nee Burns) passed away in St Albert, AB on Saturday, September 7, 2024 at 84 years of age. She passed peacefully, surrounded by 3 generations of her family. It was an honour and privilege for her loved ones to be there with her, as she has always been there for them. Audrey is survived by sons; Wayne Connery (Marci) and John Connery (Christine) and daughter, Debra Suchy (Craig) and Cheryl Granger. She is also survived by grandchildren; Madison Adamson (Mike), Aaron Suchy (Tiffany), Paige Tremblay (Lee), Brennen Connery (Renee), Austin Connery and great-grandchildren; Ella Tremblay, Jonathan Tremblay, Callie Tremblay, Barrett Suchy, Teagan Suchy, Gage Adamson, Beau Connery; and sister-in-law Margaret Burns. Audrey also has 2 more great-grand babies on the way. She was predeceased by her beloved husband of over 50 years Gordon Connery (and his siblings and their spouses). She was also predeceased by her mother Jean Schwerdt (nee Knapp, then Burns); father Marvin Burns; stepfather Victor Schwerdt; brother Harvey Burns; and sister Ann Finch (nee Burns, then Holland); brother-in-law Gordon Finch; and numerous nieces and nephews.

Audrey Marlene Burns was born on October 5, 1939 in Edmonton, AB to parents Jean and Marvin Burns. Early in her life Audrey began working to help her Mom, who was then a single-mother raising three children on her own. Audrey became a registered nursing-aide, training under the supervision of Dr Garrison at the Fairview Hospital. She was extremely proud of that accomplishment and she applied the skills she mastered there to all the other career paths she followed over the next 50 years or so. She was a farmer, school custodian, meat cutter, youth and adult support worker, accounting administrator, and an executive director at a Seniors’ Lodge. Audrey’s life experience opened many doors to opportunities that someone with a lesser education wouldn’t normally be qualified. When her daughter was in high school, Audrey returned to school as an adult student and achieved her grade ten so that she could return to nursing, if she chose to. Life got busy and she never returned to nursing but her family was very proud of her for setting and achieving that goal.

Audrey and her husband Gordon were avid volunteers in the communities they lived in. In Worsley, AB they volunteered in many capacities, especially in leadership roles. Audrey’s biggest volunteer accomplishment in Worsley was probably her role in the Alberta Women’s Institute Club (AWI) as President and as the founder of the first ever AWI Girls Club there. She and her daughter spent many, many hours working alongside each other in leadership roles in the club. Audrey’s implementation of the AWIGC gave many girls in the rural north opportunities to learn skills they couldn’t learn anywhere else. In fact, her daughter credits her girls club experiences with helping her become the teacher/public speaker she is today.

After leaving their family farm in Worsley in 1975 and moving to Morinville, AB Audrey and Gordon spent their time being the wonderful parents/grandparents they were and working hard at their jobs. In retirement they started floor curling and loved it. Audrey first served as Director at the Alberta Floor Curling Association and then as President. She was also Social Convener for the Morinville Rendezvous Club. In 2007 Audrey and Gordon received the prestigious provincial Heritage Award for their extensive volunteer efforts. Their family was at the presentation of the award and were all very proud of them.

Audrey and Gordon were certainly dedicated to their communities but they were even MORE dedicated to their family. They knew of each other in the community of Worsley but they first met at a ball game. Gordon offered Audrey a ride home in his old car. This old car had a sign on the back that read, “Don’t laugh lady. Your daughter might be in here.” Audrey’s mother Jean was not impressed and more than a bit concerned when Audrey and Gordon pulled into the driveway that day. Turns out Jean ended up loving and respecting Gordon immensely. Audrey and Gordon wed on Friday, October 14, 1955 at St Paul’s Church in Fairview, AB and made their home in Worsley. They had three children: Debra, Wayne, John. Their family often worked alongside each other on the farm and in the community. They also played together; camping, playing ball, skating, sledding, motor-biking, ice curling, and horseback riding. As a family, they spent a lot of Sunday afternoons with Pete and Violet Nykolsyhyn and their children. They also spent many days and holidays with Jim and Ethel Connery and their kids.

Audrey had a flair for making a house a home and their homes were always lovely. Audrey and Gordon’s first home was a tiny house on the Hoover farm. It was drafty and cold. When they moved onto their farmland they lived in a small house, which burned to the ground in about 1963. They lived in a granary with their first two kids and Audrey’s teen sister Ann while they built their new house on the farm. Later they were required to live in the school yard as Custodians of Worsley School, but soon returned to the charming farmhouse they built on their land, with all three kids in tow. Audrey also had a flair for fashion and sewed most of her kids’ clothes for many years. Despite her sons not liking it, Audrey enjoyed dressing her boys in matching clothes. She and her daughter would look through magazines and the Sears catalogue to pick out things they liked and Audrey would sew them. Sometimes she would use a pattern but often she did not. She was talented in so many ways.

In 1975 Audrey, her husband, and their three children made the big move from their farm near Worsley to Morinville. Later they retired on an acreage next door to their oldest son and his wife just outside of Morinville where they lived until they moved into supported living (Chartwell) in St Albert, AB. During their retirement they enjoyed travelling, especially touring warmer climates in the United States in their motorhome. Audrey became a widow on August 29, 2015 when her beloved husband, Gordon passed away. Requiring a higher level of nursing care, Audrey moved into Youville Home in St Albert in May of this year and that is where she passed.

Audrey was surrounded by three generations of her loved ones during her passing. One of the most beautiful moments was when son John arrived. Audrey had been asking for him, as he rushed to be by her bedside. He took her face into his hands and told her how much he loved her. In and out of consciousness, she smiled ever so sweetly at him. It was such a poignant moment. She had smiled in the same unique way earlier for her son Wayne. Another beautiful moment was when Audrey reached out to her great-grandson Beau and 18 month old Beau held her hand.

Audrey made all her own choices along the way. She was bright and articulate throughout her life. Her feisty personality served her well over the years as she faced many challenges. She faced many hardships from the time she was a child. The adversity made her strong. She was tiny but mighty. She loved her family and extended family deeply with fierce loyalty and devotion. She supported each of her children and their families, as best she could. She was a loving, dedicated daughter, sister, wife, mother, aunt, grandmother, and friend. Her home and her heart were always open to her kids’ friends and even stray extended family members over the years. Many of her kids’ friends adored her. Audrey will be forever in her family’s hearts and will be sadly missed. Still her family is grateful that she is free of her worn out physical body and is now with her beloved husband, her mother, her siblings and other loved ones on the other side. Surely they are rejoicing her arrival.

Audrey’s Celebration of Life will be on Sunday, October 6th at The St Albert Inn and Suites, 156 St Albert Trail, St Albert, AB at 11:00 a.m. followed by a luncheon. Private internment to follow at Saint John Baptiste Cemetery, in Morinville, AB.