Kathleen BIRCHALL

KATHLEEN (GRAHAM) BIRCHALL At Kingston, Ontario, on February 22, 2023, at the age of 102. Loved mother of David (Pamela) and Nancy (Leighton). Also survived by her grandchildren, Alasdair (Clare), Dougal (Nuttawan) and Patsy (Chris). Great-grandmother of Elliott, Benjamin, and Deacon. Born in Dauphin, Manitoba, the younger child of a lawyer and a teacher, Kay attended United College (now The University of Winnipeg) where she excelled in academics and sports, and where she met her classmate and future husband, Roger Graham. After their marriage in 1942, they lived first in Toronto and then Regina and Saskatoon where Roger held academic positions in Canadian history at The University of Regina and The University of Saskatchewan. They returned to Ontario in 1968 when Roger took up the position of Douglas Chair of Canadian History at Queen's University. Kay's love of literature and her keen mind led to employment as a book reviewer for two Canadian newspapers. "This Week I Read", her long-time column in The Regina Leader Post, always included weekly reviews of two adult books and one children's book. Books from publishers arrived daily, so there was never a shortage of reading material for her and her family. There was soon, however, a shortage of space! The constant stream of books overflowed into every room of the house, stacked up on every flat surface, until provision was made for a library in the house. Kay was always especially proud to showcase new Canadian authors in her column, identifying deeply with both the style and the content of those authors' works. In her forties, Kay returned to university, graduating with an M.A. in English literature. Her love of writing persisted into her 70's and 80's; it was during that time that The Western Producer published her memoir, "The Brown Purse", of life on the prairies during the Depression. Roger and Kay took great delight in travelling, particularly to Portugal. After Roger died suddenly in 1988, Kay embarked alone on Elderhostel excursions, where she found great interest both in local cultures and in the lives of her travelling companions. Then, in 1998, she met Air Commodore Leonard Birchall at a duplicate bridge table. Their attraction to each other was mutual, and they married later that year. The bride was 78 and the groom, 83! Kay embraced military life with Birch with the same enthusiasm she had displayed in academic life with Roger. She even had a kilt made for herself in the air force tartan! Because Birch had been first a student and later Commandant at Royal Military College, he and Kay donated The Birchall Pavilion, a building on the College grounds where cadets could change and shower after athletics. After Birch's death in 2004, Kay continued with various pursuits, especially golf, bridge and long-distance walking, as well as establishing and sustaining several university scholarships and, founded by her and Birch, one air cadet scholarship. Her travelling was now confined to a week in Aruba every winter, plus a week in the summer at Cleveland's House in Muskoka and an occasional stay at various summer cottages. The good health and energy she had always enjoyed lasted into her 90's. Eventually moving to a retirement home in Kingston, her health steadily worsened until, in her late 90's, she was admitted to a nursing home. Kay died just short of her 104th year, after suffering a persistent and difficult decline. She was often heard to ruefully remark that she had taken too good care of herself and had lived too long, outliving almost all of her friends. Kay will be buried in Glenhaven Memorial Gardens beside her first husband, Roger Graham. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made in Kay's name to the Charity of Your Choice. Online book of condolences available at www.reidfuneralhome.com.