Tanya Jean (Folker) Mounce
Tanya Mounce Obituary
Mounce, Tanya Jean (nee Folker) – age 84 of Hantsport passed peacefully on December 1, 2020 at the Windsor Elms Village, Falmouth, Nova Scotia. Tanya was the daughter of the late Floss and Harvey Folker, Hantsport, NS. Besides her parents, she was predeceased by her husband Charles “Chuck” Andrew Mounce, brother Grant Folker and sister Faye Parker.
Tanya is survived by her children Andrea (John) Mounce-Halasz of Chester, Shawn (Deborah) of Virginia Beach, VA and Jill (Peter) Johnston of Hantsport; her eight grandchildren: Matthew (Linda) Halasz, Andrew (Erin) Halasz, Carlie Mounce, Kevin Mounce Brett (Katie) Mounce, Adam (Emilie) Johnston, Garret Johnston, Kyle Johnston and her great grandchild Anna Johnston. She is also survived by her brother Wayne Folker and sister Tamara Folker as well as many nieces and nephews.
The family would like to thank the staff of the Windsor Elms Village who have provided such loving care over the past, almost 3 years as well as the many friends who have given their love and support during this time.
In lieu of flowers, please honour the charity of your choice in Tanya’s name
To Andrea, Shawn and Jill:
If these were normal times, I would have given an eulogy for Tanya at her funeral. But I want you to know what I would have said.
I always considered Tanya to be the queen of Hantsport. Except for a few years, she lived her entire life in this wonderful little town in the Annapolis Valley. She was one of the most generous, hospitable and community minded people I have ever known. It was impossible not to admire and love her.
Tanya and I go back more than 80 years when our mothers – next door neighbours – put us together as playmates. That bond has increased and strengthened over the years.
During those childhood years, there were no (or very few) telephones and certainly no TV. We had to make our own fun and we did – inventing games and putting on plays where we made up the dialogue as we went along. I consider this the beginning of improv theatre in Canada!! Tanya was always the star of these plays and the one who came up with the ideas.
We played baseball in the back yards next to the railway tracks and always went swimming in the river. When we were teenagers, Tanya, Sharon Dewar and I took Red Cross Swimming courses and then became instructors at the beach (that was before the pool was built). Our lesson times were dependent upon the tides and every few days we had a couple of days off to conform to tidal schedules. The pay was $7.50 a week.
There was another aspect of Tanya’s life that stayed with her forever. Her mother, the very talented Floss, made all her clothes and so Tanya was always the best-dressed girl in town. Over the decades, I have never seen her when she wasn’t always stylishly dressed.
As Tanya developed into a beautiful and smart young woman, it was not surprising that she attracted the attention of the opposite sex. When the Mounce cousins from Windsor came prowling around Hantsport, it didn’t take long before one of them, Charlie, to notice this lovely and mature 18 year old. Tanya didn’t like the name Charles(or Charlie) and insisted on calling him Chuck – a name he carried for the rest of his life.
By today’s standards, 18 is too young for a bride, but it didn’t seem unusual back then because of the maturity of both the bride and groom.
That marriage was one of the best I have ever been able to observe (I often told Tanya she should write a book on marriage and parenting) and the results prove it. Andrea, Shawn and Jill were the luckiest kids to have the parents they did. And they, in turn, have followed the same principles in choosing exceptional spouses and raising their own children. Now Adam is on the same path with generations of good examples to follow.
Although we are grieving the loss of this exceptional woman and my dear friend, let us be thankful that she was in our lives and our lives are better because of it.
With much love to all of you.
June
To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Tanya Jean (Folker) Mounce, please visit our floral store.
