This year Heather Isnardy will lay the Silver Cross Mother wreath on behalf of all mothers who lost children in the service of their country.
A self-described “army brat,” Isnardy said her father, Roland Kelly, served for 27 years and her brother George Kelly was in the navy for three years.
“My dad was a warrant officer,” she said. “His number was SG41209. That’s something I will never forget.”
When asked why the number sticks with her all these years later, she replied, “that was dad.”
Kelly was stationed in Sicily, Italy, Holland and Germany during the war, she added.
Born in New Brunswick in 1946, Isnardy also lived in Quebec, Ontario and Alberta because of her father’s various stations.
Her parents moved to B.C. when he retired from the army.
Growing up she attended Remembrance Day ceremonies and said in the 50 years she has been a member of the Royal Canadian Legion, she has not missed one.
“I remember in school we always had a ceremony the day before.”
When legion member Vivian McNeil asked Isnardy if she would lay the Silver Cross Mother wreath, she said she was honoured.
As she was born just after the Second World War, Isnardy said she was always inquisitive and tried to ask her dad questions.
“Dad did not talk about it. That’s who he was. A lot of men felt that way and I had to respect that.”
This past summer, Isnardy was presented her 50-year-membership pin by the legion.
At the time she said she originally moved to Williams Lake to work in the hospital as a medical office assistant and then worked for two years in the Kamloops hospital.
She met her late husband Frank Isnardy, who was born and raised in the Cariboo, while back in Williams Lake on a weekend visiting friends.
Her children are Tammy-Lee, Tanya and Todd.
READ MORE: Legion to host Remembrance Day services in Williams Lake Nov. 11
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