Anna Kathleen Shantz

1919 - 2004  (85 years)

• Name	Anna Kathleen Shantz
  Born	20 Jan 1919	Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [1, 2]
  Gender	Female
  Name	Anna Kathleen Cameron
  Residence	1921	Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [1]
  	Mennonite
  Eby ID Number	Waterloo-298204
  Died	29 Nov 2004	Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [2]
  Buried	Woodland Cem., Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [2]
  Person ID	I298204	Generations
  Last Modified	6 Apr 2024

  
  

  Father	Allan B. Shantz,   b. 14 Aug 1873, Wilmot Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada ,   d. 14 Nov 1931, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  (Age 58 years)
  Mother	Catherine Shirk,   b. 20 Mar 1875, Bridgeport (Kitchener), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada ,   d. 25 Jan 1954, Elmira, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  (Age 78 years)
  Married	1 Mar 1899	, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [3]
  Family ID	F1448	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Ewan Cameron,   b. 27 Apr 1913, Inverness, Inverness, Nova Scotia, Canada ,   d. 25 Jan 1963, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  (Age 49 years)
  Last Modified	7 Apr 2024
  Family ID	F60731	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Notes

  "ANNA KATHLEEN CAMERON nee Shantz Jan. 20, 1919-Nov. 29, 2004 - Anna Cameron died suddenly, following a stroke, on Mon., Nov. 29, in Kitchener. Anna lived independently and fully to her last hours. Anna was married to Ewan Cameron, who died in 1968. She leaves a daughter, Margaret, Dartmouth, N.S.; three sons, Roy (Maaike Asselbergs)and Hugh (Mary Molnar), Kitchener and Clare (Catherine), Cambridge; her daughters-in-law, Marguerite Love Cameron and Gale Brubacher Cameron, both of Kitchener, grandchildren Melanie Cameron (Mark Morton), Scot(Heather), Ewan, James, Elizabeth, Daniel and Thomas, gr-grandson Owenand brother Frank Shantz (Eleanor), Waterloo. She was predeceased by her grandson, David; her parents Catherine 'Kate' Shirk Shantz and Allan Bowman Shantz; sisters, Erma Bingeman and Florence Becker and her brothers, Vernon, Mervin, Russell and Edward Shantz. Anna was a remarkable woman, much loved and admired by her extended family and many friends. She embraced life, was resilient, and gave her best effort to all she did. She was devoted to building family and community. Her grandchildren delighted her and delighted in her. Anna was a dietitian at KW Hospital, an active member of Stirling Ave. Mennonite Church and enjoyed working out at the Y....Woodland Cemetery..." KW Record obit. of Wed., Dec. 1, 2004 ________________________ "At age 44, Anna Cameron was suddenly widowed, left with four dependent children in an era when there wasn't much support for single mothers. 'She was really under a lot of pressure', said her son, Roy Cameron, of Kitchener. 'She hadn't worked in 20 years...she was trained as a dietician but only worked briefly, then she got married'. The death of her husband, Ewan, proved to be another hiccup in Anna's life, one that made her roll up her sleeves and make the best of things. 'When I look back, she must have felt so isolated', said Roy, who was proud of how his mother rose against adversity without complaint. Born into a rural Mennonite family, Anna grew up speaking Pennsylvania Dutch, not learning English until grade school. In her memoirs she recounted a happy childhood full of the freedoms afforded adventurous children in rural areas. Her family were Peter Shirk's descendants, a man described by the family as a 'prominent pioneer' in the Mennonite community. Her parents and others in the community had more progressive views on their faith than their ancestors and started Stirling Avenue Mennonite Church. 'They were a group that thought they should become more acculturated', said Roy. Anna's mother encouraged the young to read, to let her imagination fly,and she graduated from the Macdonald Institute (Univ. of Guelph) the first in her family to do so. When she was 12, Anna's father died, only two months after she started high school at the sprawling Kitchener Collegiate Institute, having moved from a one-room rural schoolhouse. In his eulogy, Roy talked about how difficult it was for Anna to grieve for her father and start a new school, but she did so with courage and determination. As a young woman, Anna's life took another unexpected turn, something her pacifist Mennonite family might not have anticipated. She married a police officer. Roy once asked her why she would marry a Scottish Presbyterian who carried a gun, and she replied matter-of-factly, 'he was interesting'. Anna was a woman of few words and not given to gushing but Roy things he rmarriage choice 'reflected her openness to life'. Ewan was the deputy police chief in Kitchener when he died of a heart attack at age 49. After his death, Anna was hired as a dietitian at KW Hospital, where she stayed until retirement, serving as asst. director. To Anna, creating a happy workplace for her staff was paramount, and maintaining a happy, cohesive family imperative. 'Once you were part of the family you were always part of the family',said Roy, recounting how his mother retained her closeness to her sons' former spouses. Roy's ex-wife, Marguerite Cameron of Kitchener, agreed, explaining 'she continued to call me her daughter. That was important to her, that we maintain that relationship.' Marguerite recalls the 1960s, when she first met Anna, a busy career mom. 'She was always very supportive and came to pitch in', she said. 'I looked up to her, as a role model'. Anna's grandchildren were a particular delight, added Roy. 'Every year she'd have a Christmas event, grandchildren only. They'd play games, she'd get right on the floor and play with them'. Anna, who never remarried, possessed an adventurous spirit, traveling the world after retirement. She usually went alone and was always keen to learn, to grow. She was equally interested in fitness and was a regular at the YMCA. In the end, Anna died with the same dignity and independence that so coloured her life. She had returned home from a shopping trip when the stroke hit, but she was lucid enough to call 911 and instruct paramedics to come in the unlocked rear door. 'She was unconscious when they arrived', Roy said. In his eulogy, Roy concluded his mother was 'heavy on deeds, light on words', that she was a woman to whom social justice and gender equality mattered. 'She gave us, her children, the remarkable gift of herself. Her most powerful guidance emerged from the example she set'. Until the end she was fully engaged in life. Anna Cameron leaves behind her sons Roy and Hugh Cameron of Kitchener and Claire of Cambridge, daughter Margaret of Nova Scotia, seven grandchildren and one gr-grandchild. Predeceased by her husband Ewan Cameron and grandson David Cameron.") KW Record of Thurs., Jan. 13, 2005, 'Lifetimes' column

  
  

• Sources

  [S2088] Census - ON, Waterloo, Waterloo North - 1921, Sub District 5 Page 4. [S3231] Find A Grave, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/38309380/anna-kathleen-cameron. [S4] Vit - ON - Marriage Registration, 015681-1899. Allen SHANTZ, 24 of Wilmot Tp., born Wilmot Tp., bachelor, farmer, Mennonite, son of Wendel SHANTZ & Nancy BOWMAN to Katy SHERK, 24 of Bridgeport, born Bridgeport, spinster, Mennonite, daughter of Peter SHIRK & Mag. MARTIN on Mar. 1st, 1899 in Berlin. Ceremony witnessed by Josiah CRESSMAN, Waterloo Tp., & Magdalena SHIRK, Bridgeport; performed by Daniel Wismer.

  
  

• Event Map

  Born - 20 Jan 1919 - Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Residence - Mennonite - 1921 - Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Died - 29 Nov 2004 - Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Buried - - Woodland Cem., Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  = Link to Google Earth