On October 29th, 2026, Lynne Marianne Wise (Nee Spaidal) passed away peacefully with family by her side. Lynne left this world much like she lived her life – on her own terms.
Born November 5th, 1946, Lynne was the baby in a family of 6 kids. Siblings Bill, Don, Lois, Jim and Ken (Kip) all contended that Lynne was the spoiled one! She grew up in Vancouver, BC, and had very happy memories of family and friends. (The family later discovered half-brother Denton from England in the early 2000’s, he travelled to Canada with wife Allie to meet his Spaidal kin, and Lois and Lynne travelled to England to visit them several years later). Pretty sure Denton was the only sibling that did not refer to Lynne as ‘the brat’!
In 1968, after marrying her first husband, Lynne was moved to Ontario; nonetheless Vancouver was always “home” to Lynne, even in her 70’s!! In Ontario, Lynne’s family grew to include Debby-Lyn and Trevor. After ridding herself of about 180 lbs (first husband), Lynne met her soul-mate Ralph Kenneth Wise. They were married in June 1975. The family grew to include Kenn (Kenneth) and Jeremy. Always an animal lover, there are way too many pets to list, but each one of them were loved and cherished. Of course, everyone always has a favourite, and Lynne’s favourite, hands down, was our Irish Setter ‘Ginger’.
Ralph and Lynne opened their home to family and friends, and were always ready to help those in need. The coffee pot was always on, there was always room at the table, plenty of food to go around, and a bed could always be found. They both served their community proudly in many ways, including through the Ballantrae Lions Club. (Mom was a Lion, and would quickly correct anyone that called her a Lioness!). She was part of the Rebecca Lodge for a period of time, and served on the Ballantrae Community Centre Board. Charity was extremely important to Lynne – whether sewing clothes for kids overseas, hundreds of masks sewn and donated during Covid, or a plethora of baked goods donated to a bake sale, Lynne was constantly involved in helping out. Her creativity and love of sewing, embroidery, cross-stitch, quilting and cooking supported her charity work.
Lynne wore many hats during her work years – secretary, spot welder, upholsterer, typist, factory worker, office manager, crafter, tack shop seamstress – but most importantly, homemaker. She was an awesome cook and many benefitted from her baking and preserving skills. Her mantra was “why make/have one, when ten or twelve would be better?” (which also spilled into many aspects of her life, like her fabric stash!).
Then there were the games – we are pretty sure Lynne was born with a deck of cards in her hands. She was always up for any card game, loved poker and euchre especially but it didn’t have to be cards. Lynne loved board games, playing pool, bocce, going bowling, etc. Of course, it wasn’t really worth it unless there were some stakes attached. Be it playing for chores, or even a penny a point, us kids learned to play to win! Lynne’s playful side really came out with her Red Hat friends the DDz & WannaBz. She loved to dress up, and sing and dance the night away; and some of the costumes were outrageous!
Lynne lost her soul-mate Ralph in June 2020, and her many health issues began to worsen. She was able to visit family and friends in BC one more time, driving across the country with son Kenn (they
picked up her nephew Clifford in Saskatchewan on the way). This was Lynne’s last big trip, and one she cherished very much.
The last one standing of her siblings and widowed, Lynne is also predeceased by son Trevor Wise. She will be lovingly missed by: her children Debby-Lyn Sabo (husband Ken), Kenn Wise (partner Heather Bawden), and Jeremy Wise (wife Sarah Wise); grandchildren Cameron Sabo, Geoffrey Sabo (wife Beatrice Frasca), Yasmine Weldon-Scheckenberger (husband Kole THORN), Mark Wise, Lexi Wise, Samantha Wise, Tristan Wise and Alex Sabo-Thomas; and great-grandchildren Amilia, Karly and Olivia. Lynne has touched so many lives, and will be sadly missed by a large group of extended family and friends. Our greatest solace is that she is no longer in pain, and will be with us in our hearts and memories.
In true Lynne fashion, she did not want a funeral or celebration of life—instead we were instructed to have a party in her memory. We will be organizing such a celebration on November 22, 2026 – – details will be forthcoming. The family hopes the people who have been touched by this lovely lady will be able to join us to play one more game for ‘Nanny’.
“In keeping with Lynne’s charitable nature, please consider a donation to your charity of choice in her memory. She always said she was allergic to cut flowers 🙂”
