Obituary for Vera Mae Sollows
Vera Mae Sollows
She gave the gifts of love, kindness and positivity to everyone who knew her. Vera Mae Higby was born in Yarmouth, on March 2, 1927, daughter of John Clark and Mildred Irene (Syvertsen) Higby. She left us at 2:04 P.M. November 11, 2020 at Yarmouth Regional Hospital with her son, David, at her side, at the age of 93.
Vera grew up with a close circle of friends with whom she stayed in close contact throughout her life. She enjoyed skating on ponds, biking, dancing, playing cards, writing poetry and swimming, especially in the Chebogue River. She worked in Yarmouth after she completed her education and in the late 1940’s she began keeping company with Edwin Graves (“Ted”) Sollows, who taught sailing at the Lake Milo Aquatic Club.
The two married on September 24, 1951 and started their family the following year. Not long after, Vera and Ted purchased Rose Cottage on Wyman Road, a pretty house with a lovely garden that she had admired from her youth.
Vera enjoyed raising her four children. She instilled in them the importance of being kind, caring, and honest. Through leading by example, she showed them the value of serving the community. “Virtue is its own reward” was the sometimes frustrating response to “What’s in it for me?” We get it, now.
Vera’s community service began when she was very young and included volunteering to support the war effort. After she moved to Wyman Road she served on the Women’s Auxiliary of Central Chebogue United Baptist Church. She recognized the importance of education in the community at large. She became an active member of the Home and School Association for Arcadia Consolidated School shortly after it opened. She was committed to the establishment of the regional library service and she served on the Yarmouth District School Board She later became first woman to chair a vocational school board in Nova Scotia. She continued to serve on countless boards and committees throughout her life.
She had an adventurous spirit and enjoyed travel, with trips to England, Scandinavia, St. Petersburg, the United States, the Caribbean and across Canada, but she loved the moments she spent with her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren most of all.
Her last paid employment, and the job she enjoyed the most, was as bookkeeper for her son Stephen at Repair-All.
Vera was a talented but humble craftsperson who learned needlework from her mother and grandmother from an early age. Embroidery, sewing, quilting, stained glass were all pursuits she excelled at, but rug hooking became her special interest about 30 years ago. She treasured the friendships she formed through the craft. In 2010 she was honoured as a life member of the Rug Hooking Guild of Nova Scotia and was chosen as a “Cover Girl” for their publication, The Loop.
“Perhaps one of Vera’s most outstanding attributes is her positive outlook on life and the challenges it throws at one. She has always had an attitude that anything is possible …” said a citation from the Rug Hooking Guild of Nova Scotia, read on November 26 2010, at the Yarmouth County Museum and Archives. She was able to bring out the beauty and goodness in others by the example she set.
Vera was also a member of Beacon United Church, the Yarmouth Carpetbaggers, and until recently, the Kritosophian Club, the oldest book club in Canada.
She is survived by her, brother Jack (Rosalie), and her children John (Nhung), David (Judy), Stephen (Janet), and Celia (Rory), grandchildren Clark, Adam, Jennie, Emily, Steen, Aaron, and Lily; and three great-grandchildren. She was predeceased by her parents, her husband Ted, and niece, Ann Higby.
If you would like to make a donation to remember Vera, please consider a contribution to Beacon United Church or to the Yarmouth Area Community Fund (https://cfns-fcne.ca/en/yarmouthareacommunityfund) ( For online donations to the community fund please advise Sweeny's Funeral Home via email that that donation has been made so we can notify the family) . It was her wish that there be no funeral. A private celebration of her life will take place at a later date. Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to Sweeny's Funeral Home and Crematorium, Yarmouth. Online condolences may be sent to sweenysfh@eastlink.ca, or you may sign the guest book online at www.sweenysfuneralhome.net
Vera maintained an active social life, was a friend and advisor to many, and loved by all.
“You are aware of the magical part your mom has played. She is indeed a special lady in many ways. Of course we are amazed at the contributions people make. Some shine like a star. Your mother is the brightest, and surely lights up the path for all of us.”
- Letter to Celia Sollows from Peter King, reminiscing about Word War II, September 2015.
“My life has been full of good times and fun and I’ve loved it. And I wish the same for you.”
- Letter to her grandson, Aaron Ryder, July 19, 2019.
“I wonder what God will devise for my entertainment tomorrow!”
- Closing in a letter about a rainbow that appeared in a straight line below a halo, June 5, 2000.
She gave the gifts of love, kindness and positivity to everyone who knew her. Vera Mae Higby was born in Yarmouth, on March 2, 1927, daughter of John Clark and Mildred Irene (Syvertsen) Higby. She left us at 2:04 P.M. November 11, 2020 at Yarmouth Regional Hospital with her son, David, at her side, at the age of 93.
Vera grew up with a close circle of friends with whom she stayed in close contact throughout her life. She enjoyed skating on ponds, biking, dancing, playing cards, writing poetry and swimming, especially in the Chebogue River. She worked in Yarmouth after she completed her education and in the late 1940’s she began keeping company with Edwin Graves (“Ted”) Sollows, who taught sailing at the Lake Milo Aquatic Club.
The two married on September 24, 1951 and started their family the following year. Not long after, Vera and Ted purchased Rose Cottage on Wyman Road, a pretty house with a lovely garden that she had admired from her youth.
Vera enjoyed raising her four children. She instilled in them the importance of being kind, caring, and honest. Through leading by example, she showed them the value of serving the community. “Virtue is its own reward” was the sometimes frustrating response to “What’s in it for me?” We get it, now.
Vera’s community service began when she was very young and included volunteering to support the war effort. After she moved to Wyman Road she served on the Women’s Auxiliary of Central Chebogue United Baptist Church. She recognized the importance of education in the community at large. She became an active member of the Home and School Association for Arcadia Consolidated School shortly after it opened. She was committed to the establishment of the regional library service and she served on the Yarmouth District School Board She later became first woman to chair a vocational school board in Nova Scotia. She continued to serve on countless boards and committees throughout her life.
She had an adventurous spirit and enjoyed travel, with trips to England, Scandinavia, St. Petersburg, the United States, the Caribbean and across Canada, but she loved the moments she spent with her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren most of all.
Her last paid employment, and the job she enjoyed the most, was as bookkeeper for her son Stephen at Repair-All.
Vera was a talented but humble craftsperson who learned needlework from her mother and grandmother from an early age. Embroidery, sewing, quilting, stained glass were all pursuits she excelled at, but rug hooking became her special interest about 30 years ago. She treasured the friendships she formed through the craft. In 2010 she was honoured as a life member of the Rug Hooking Guild of Nova Scotia and was chosen as a “Cover Girl” for their publication, The Loop.
“Perhaps one of Vera’s most outstanding attributes is her positive outlook on life and the challenges it throws at one. She has always had an attitude that anything is possible …” said a citation from the Rug Hooking Guild of Nova Scotia, read on November 26 2010, at the Yarmouth County Museum and Archives. She was able to bring out the beauty and goodness in others by the example she set.
Vera was also a member of Beacon United Church, the Yarmouth Carpetbaggers, and until recently, the Kritosophian Club, the oldest book club in Canada.
She is survived by her, brother Jack (Rosalie), and her children John (Nhung), David (Judy), Stephen (Janet), and Celia (Rory), grandchildren Clark, Adam, Jennie, Emily, Steen, Aaron, and Lily; and three great-grandchildren. She was predeceased by her parents, her husband Ted, and niece, Ann Higby.
If you would like to make a donation to remember Vera, please consider a contribution to Beacon United Church or to the Yarmouth Area Community Fund (https://cfns-fcne.ca/en/yarmouthareacommunityfund) ( For online donations to the community fund please advise Sweeny's Funeral Home via email that that donation has been made so we can notify the family) . It was her wish that there be no funeral. A private celebration of her life will take place at a later date. Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to Sweeny's Funeral Home and Crematorium, Yarmouth. Online condolences may be sent to sweenysfh@eastlink.ca, or you may sign the guest book online at www.sweenysfuneralhome.net
Vera maintained an active social life, was a friend and advisor to many, and loved by all.
“You are aware of the magical part your mom has played. She is indeed a special lady in many ways. Of course we are amazed at the contributions people make. Some shine like a star. Your mother is the brightest, and surely lights up the path for all of us.”
- Letter to Celia Sollows from Peter King, reminiscing about Word War II, September 2015.
“My life has been full of good times and fun and I’ve loved it. And I wish the same for you.”
- Letter to her grandson, Aaron Ryder, July 19, 2019.
“I wonder what God will devise for my entertainment tomorrow!”
- Closing in a letter about a rainbow that appeared in a straight line below a halo, June 5, 2000.