Laura Dorothy Farquharson

FARQUHARSON, Laura Dorothy
July 16, 1934 - October 1, 2024
Laura passed away peacefully on October 1, 2024 at Victoria Hospice with family members and her spunky canine sidekick, Robbie, by her side. She was predeceased in 2021 by her cherished husband of 42 years Ken Farquharson, and earlier by her dear brother Ed Biddle.
She is survived by her children Ann (Ritchie) Morrison and Peter Draffehn, her brother Len Biddle, her granddaughter Lindsay Winder and great-grandson Beau, and stepdaughters Jane and Kirsty Farquharson (sons Jamie and Will).
Laura was born in London, England in 1934 and survived the 1941 Blitz bombing of London by Nazi Germany. As a child she often took cover in bomb shelters during devastating air attacks, returning to the surface afterwards to witness the devastation that war can visit on a city and its people.
After high school she worked for a period of time in London, but departed on a life changing adventure by ship to Canada in the late 1950s. She arrived in the Port of Montreal but ultimately continued her adventure by rail to Banff, where she met her first husband, Klaus Draffehn (and provided room service to Bing Crosby!). They were soon married and moved to Vancouver, where Ann and Peter were born in the early 60s.
Laura married Ken in 1979. Ken and Laura were adventure soul mates and travelled throughout the world, including Europe, Africa, Asia, and the South Pacific.
In 1984 Laura and Ken moved to Kinclune, the family farm near Kingoldrum in Scotland. For 10 years they enjoyed the hills and glens and made many lifelong friends. In 1994 they returned to Vancouver, enjoying numerous camping trips and hikes throughout BC. On one such trip to Vancouver Island in 2005, they took the road less travelled and drove through Metchosin on their way to Sooke. They fell in love with the community and soon moved into their beautiful oceanfront home near Witty's Lagoon. Laura became a dedicated Metchosin volunteer, working at the community newspaper and a local community book store, and leading a local knitting group. Both Laura and Ken were very active in Metchosin and supported numerous local initiatives, building many close friendships along the way.
Laura had a keen sense of humour, a deep intellect and a strong sense of social justice. She was generous to friends and family and was quick to convert a stranger into a friend.
The family extends their deep and lasting appreciation to the many dedicated palliative health care workers at Island Health who helped Laura remain in her beloved home with Robbie for as long as possible. In addition, the family would like to acknowledge the dedicated staff at Victoria Hospice for their kindness and expertise in making Laura comfortable during her final days.
At Laura's request there will be no service. On the occasion of her 90th birthday on July 16, 2024, she enjoyed a festive celebration with family and friends in her beautiful garden. She remarked later that "this was the celebration of my life."