Stella Catherine Mumford, passed peacefully at Evergreen Care, White Rock, British Columbia with family at her side – in her 100th year of living through a century of great joy and wonder, as well as many hardships, always supporting and being supported by family and friends. Stella was born to a close farming family. Homesteading in McGee, Saskatchewan. Graduating from the Saskatoon Normal School, she taught at several one-room prairie schools for ten years before, during and after WWII, when she fell in love and married Jim Mumford and became an RCMP “Red Serge” wife for the next 20 years at detachments in White Horse, YT, then Colwood, Lytton and Surrey, BC. Stella continued as a teacher on call while raising a family of six children. Many remember her as a devoted Roman Catholic and a member of the Catholic Women’s League (CWL) for most of her adult life, and recall her passion for dancing, directing children’s plays, playing bridge, walking and the numerous family picnics with her large extended family, both in the lower mainland as well as on Vancouver Island. Later, life saw her and Jim traveling extensively through Canada and the United States, as well as Ireland, the UK and Europe.
Stella is pre-deceased by George (Jim) Mumford, her beloved husband of 64 years; her sisters Elaine (Larry Lynch), Isabel (Frank Ell), Irene (Ralph Duggan), and Margaret (Tim Harder); brothers Jim and Martin Roach. Her laughter and generosity will be missed greatly by her sister Marion (Maime) Jorgenson, sister-in-law Helen Roach, children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren Dale and Wendy of Fort Langley, BC – Bailey Mumford (Dax), Stephanie & Steve Brohman (Brady & Brooklyn), and Savannah and Cameron Esposito (Grace); Miles and Carolyn Mumford of Surrey, BC – Matt and Leah Mumford (Jaxon & Hayden), Rob Mumford, Rebecca Mumford and Tyler Dixon; Don and Gabi Mumford of London, ON – Maxwell Webb and Kansas Knott (Fox Webb), Natalie and Jacob McInnis (Llewyn & Adelaide), Brittany Mumford; Eileen Mumford of White Rock; Janet Mumford and Greg Burley of Brentwood Bay, BC; Gerry and Valerie Mumford of Calgary, AB – Spencer Mumford, Amanda Mumford, Jillian Mumford.
Our deepest thanks to Stella’s long-time caregiver and companion, Leela Noah. Heartfelt appreciation, also to the staff and residents of Evergreen Care, mom’s home for the past eleven years, and to the clergy and lay ministry of the Good Shepherd Catholic Church. Donations in memory of Stella can be made to either of these organizations.
A funeral mass will be held October 27, 2022, at Good Shepherd Church, 2250 150th Street, Surrey at 10:30 am (viewing of the casket at 10:00 am). Immediately following, at 12:00 pm, interment at Gardens of Gethsemani, 15694 32nd Avenue, Surrey. Following interment, friends and family are encouraged to join the family for refreshments at Morgan Creek Golf Course, 3500 Morgan Creek Way, Surrey.