(Gloria) ‘Darlene’ Maxwell, February 27, 1945 – April 27, 2020
It is with great sadness that we announce the sudden passing of our Mom at the age of 75 years. Darlene passed away peacefully at Victoria hospice with family at her side.
Darlene is survived by her brothers Howard and Kenneth Chamberlin, her three children: Will Maxwell, Tami Rober (Paul) and Kimberly Theriault (Kevin), her six grandchildren: Barbara Rober (Shane Russell), Jessie Rober (Jon Browning), Tessa Maxwell (Russell Harris), Alex Maxwell (Jade Smith), Zackary and Nickolas Theriault and three great-grandchildren: Ryder, Priya and Mackenzie.
Darlene will be remembered for her love of her family and extended family. She enjoyed spending time with her family and friends. She loved square dancing, and playing cards and darts. She was an accomplished seamstress and made many items over the years. After retirement she started making square dancing clothes and doing embroidery. She made many gifts for friends and family and loved making baby and children’s items, including embroidered books, letters, pretend food and beautiful shirts and dresses for her grandchildren.
Darlene will be greatly missed by all her family and friends. Darlene was predeceased by her parents Howard and Alice, her sisters April and Pam and her husband William Maxwell (in 1974). Rest in peace Mom, go be with Dad and give him a big hug from us all.
Our family would like to thank all the Victoria hospice staff for their care during this difficult time. At Darlene’s request there will be no service.
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Tami, We are so sorry to hear of your loss. It is always hard to lose your mother, and it must be more difficult during these trying times. We are sending a virtual hug and will give you a real one when we can. Take care. Love and hugs, Ken and Maureen
Hello😔. This is Darlene’s neighbour from her former residence in Surrey; 127A Street.
I was very shocked to hear of Darlene’s passing. She was such an active and vibrant person. She seemed to be always in the process of going to a Square Dance get together or making some outfit for a customer or organizing something! She was a truly sweet person. She has been missed and will be missed!! My Condolences to you all.
Thank you Alex. It means a lot to hear from people whose lives she touched.
We are so sorry to hear of Darlene’s passing.
We met Darlene through square dancing, when she came to dance, to Chuck, calling for Swinging Singles , Chuckwagon 8’s, and Co-op Squares. We then danced with her (when Chuck retired) at Brent’s Bunch, up to the time when she decided to move over to the Island.
We had her at our house for dinner’s ( with our family gatherings) many times.
She sewed many square dance costumes for both Chuck and I.
In earlier years we looked after her much loved Cocker Spanial, SHADOW.
We loved him so much and often after the square dance he would stand by our car and wanted to go home with us. Darlene would laugh and say “Just who’s dog is this anyway!!”
One time, around Christmas time,we had taken Shadow with us after the dance to some friends who lived up on Bby Mountain. We left the window down a little and went into our friends approx. 10:15 PM. When we came out (at about 11:30) someone had reached in and taken some change near the dash board and let the dog out. We were horrified. Chuck went driving around the townhouse complex calling him and I (with my brand new white square dance shoes) went looking in the wet bush , calling him. We were sick with worry thinking a wild animal would get him. There is nothing worse than losing a much loved animal and having to phone the owner and tell her he was gone. We got home at 2 AM after searching and searching, and we phoned SPCA, but of course they were closed. We decided there was no use calling Darling and waking her up as what good would that do and we were going to phone in the morning. We were home about 5 min when the phone rang, and it was Darlene . She said “Are you missing a dog?” Well we just could not believe it and were so thankful ,as I had even prayed about it. Darlene was actually laughing to my relief! She said “What on earth was he doing up on BBy Mountain? So I asked her “How did you know he was up there?” She still laughing said “I got a call from a lady in a townhouse complex and she read Shadow’s tag with my name, address and phone# on it, and I went and picked him up” She found him wandering around her home. I was so grateful he was found and brought that story up many times. I still get that sick feeling when I think of it but bless Darlene’s heart, she knew how much we loved Shadow and never got mad at us.
When she had to put him down re health problems she wrote the following which I kept.
“You made his last few years and absolute joy. He loved you guys as much as he loved me and he enjoyed going over to your place SO much. Remember the walks and the time you spent with him, as he enjoyed them as much as you did.”
This is how we will remember Darlene , All the time we spent with her, and her joy of dancing, and how much she loved her SHADOW.
I believe her son-in-law, painted a beautiful huge picture of Shadow for her and she said it was one of the nicest gifts, she had ever received. It truly was a magnificent painting and it meant so much to her.
We will all miss Darlene. I know she had many trials in her life but she faced them head on. May she REST IN PEACE!
Sincerely, Marguerite and Chuck Jordan
Thank you so much Marguerite for sharing these wonderful stories. And thank you to you and Chuck for being such good friends to my mom. She spoke of you often and of how much you loved Shadow. She appreciated when you would watch him so she could come to Victoria for visits. 💕
We have enjoyed many hours with Darlene, both dancing and at her home where she showed her craft at sewing square dance clothes. We also recall Darlene’s dogs. She was such a dog lover. Many happy memories.
Very sad news to hear about the passing of Darlene. We had the pleasure of meeting Darlene through Chuckwagon 8’s and Brent’s Bunch Square Dancing. It is there we got to know Darlene and enjoyed many Thursday night chats catching up on each other’s weeks. Darlene talked fondly of her family and grandchildren. They meant the world to her. She could also work wonders with a sewing machine. I was always in awe with all the square dancing outfits she would sew. When Darlene wasn’t able to dance due to wrist surgery, she still came to socialize with everyone. Darlene would sit beside me while doing 50/50 ticket sales and cover for me while dancing. I soon just passed the torch her way as it was a great way for her to socialize with everyone buying tickets.
Darlene will be missed, but not forgotten by the square dancing community/family. Our heartfelt condolences.
Sending you lots of support during this difficult time. So sorry for your loss.
Sorry for your loss 💔
Rest in Peace, Darlene
I know what a great help you were to my daughter, she enjoyed spending time with you… Learning to sew, you will be greatly missed by all that knew you.
With love Vikki, Nikisha and Nathan
Our sincere condolences to the family. Darlene was a real contributor to the square dance community, with her custom sewing and sewing for the teen festivals despite her pain, being able to dance the man’s position when needed and looking after the 50/50. We also bonded over apples, and I think of her every time I look at our transparent apple tree. She loved those crisp early apples! Rest in peace, Darlene.
My sincerest condolences to all of you.
Darlene spoke so often of her children, her sibling & her friends, it’s like I know a small part of all of you.
I’ve never met anyone more like me than my Auntie.
She always made me feel our blood connection was strong. Her passing has affected me more than any other elder in my life.
Darlene, i told you you would be missed by many, many people!. Thank you for touching our lives.
And if you ever see a PT Cruiser with a couple of square dancers on it…well, that would be me in my Aunties old car.
Sympathies to Darlene’s family.
I met Darlene @ the Singles Square Dance Club. Her dedication to the activity and the wonderful outfits she created were inspiring.
Darlene hosted potluck dinners @ her home & we’d square dance on the lawn, sometimes with Chuck Jordan calling. These get-togethers motivated me to host similar events & Darlene participated in these too. The ones on my deck were mainly all women & we’d share lots of laughter.
When we are able to resume dancing, and get together with friends, I will light a candle to include Darlene in my next girls potluck/ square dance.