Wedding Wednesday: Belair – Murphy

On a summer’s day sixty-three years ago, my uncle Ray married Emily Murphy. Their marriage took place on 8 August 1952 at the Anglican church in Chilliwack, British Columbia.

Ray was the younger son of my grandparents Fred and Julie (Vanasse) Belair, while Emily was a daughter of William and Emily (Grisenthwaite) Murphy. Emily was born and raised in B.C., but Ray was originally from Ontario, although born in Montreal. My uncle came west in the early 1950s and settled near the village (now town) of Hope, about two hours east of Vancouver.

I don’t have a picture of Ray and Emily’s wedding, but the above photo is part of a series of the earliest photos of them as a couple in my parents’ old albums. Ray and Emily are on the right and pose with his parents. The picture was taken in December 1957 when they visited his parents Fred and Julie at their home in Timmins, Ontario.

Copyright © 2015, Yvonne Demoskoff.

Sunday’s Obituary: Emily Belair

My aunt Emily Belair passed away 34 years ago on 8 October 1980 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Emily was a daughter of William and Emily (Grisenthwaite) Murphy. Born on 2 November 1934 in Chilliwack, British Columbia, Emily grew up east of there in the small settlement of Laidlaw, on the outskirts of the town of Hope.

In August 1952, Emily married Ray Belair, my father’s younger brother. The couple made their home on a property in Laidlaw, and had two children, Janet Rae (Jenny) and Leo. My cousin Leo is still with us, but Jenny died in 2011 (her obituary can be read here) and Uncle Ray passed away just last month.

Emily’s funeral service took place six days later in Chilliwack, and she was laid to rest there in the Anglican Cemetery.

Source:

“Mrs. Belair Laid to Rest Tuesday”, funeral notice, 15 October 1980, The Hope Standard (Hope, British Columbia); p. 1, cols. 7-8.

Copyright © 2014, Yvonne Demoskoff.

Ray Belair (1931-2014)

Another link with the past was broken today when my Uncle Ray, age 83, passed away this morning.

Born on 19 January 1931 in Montreal, Quebec, Ray was a younger son of Fred and Julie (Vanasse) Belair. He was my late father Maurice’s only surviving brother.

Ray (left) with Maurice, 1950s

As a young man, Ray left his parents and his home in Timmins, Ontario to seek his fortune in western Canada. He arrived in British Columbia about 1950, where he found logging work in and around Hope, a small community about two hours east of Vancouver.

In August 1952, Uncle Ray married local girl Emily Murphy. They had two children, my cousins Janet (known as Jenny) and Leo.

Uncle Ray was instrumental in getting my father to move to B.C. in 1979 to work with him. They formed a joint business in which they built logging roads, mostly in the Boston Bar area north of Hope. Accordingly, Dad packed up his belongings, put up our family home for sale, and drove ahead of us to get started. We followed Dad within a few weeks, after our house was sold.

Ray with his family, 1960s

In October 1980, Uncle Ray lost his wife Emily, to whom he had been married for twenty-eight years. Their daughter Jenny died in February 2011.

After working at logging and road-building for most of his life, Uncle Ray retired in September 1997. His sister Joan and her son André made the trip to B.C. to help Ray celebrate.

Uncle Ray is survived by his son Leo and his family, including a new little great-granddaughter, as well as his sisters Joan and Darlene of Ontario, Canada.

We will miss you, Uncle Ray. Rest in peace.

Copyright © 2014, Yvonne Demoskoff.