Matrilineal Monday - Doreen Knox

#7

***grandmother of Kristina Hewitt, Brandon Gilby, Sandra Foster, Tiffany Hewitt***

Doreen Knox

This is my first Matrilineal Monday post!

Doreen Beryl Knox was born 27 Mar 1932 in Ontario, Canada. She was the daughter of Samuel Knox and Florence Adelaide Phillips.

Growing up, we always called Doreen "Nanny" instead of Gramma or similar names.

Kris, Nanny and Sandra

She had three sons and one daughter (my mother Doneen Lois Hewitt).

When I was a very young child (about 4 years old) we (my mother, me and my sister Sandra) lived for a short time with Doreen and our grandfather.  I think at that time 2 of my uncles (Britt and Matt) still lived at the house.

Lewis and Doreen Hewitt

When I was a child we would often go to visit Nanny and Nanny would often come to visit my mother. She would drive my mother on errands as my mother never did get her drivers license.

I remember at one time her car was an Oldsmobile, and at another time a Chevette.

Lewis and Doreen Hewitt

Nanny liked to sew, but almost never cooked.

Nanny enjoyed doing ceramics, a hobby she shared with my mother. She was very artistic and whenever we would visit she would give me various art supplies. I think she thought she just had to find the right art medium for me, but I'm hopeless at art!

Apparently she had sold some art work, drawings I believe, at some time.

At Christmas time, she would pay me and my little sister to bake cookies etc. for her so we could make money to buy Christmas gifts ourselves.

Doreen (Knox) Hewitt

She was a smoker of Craven A cigarettes.

She played piano.  All my life my grandparents house had a piano, which I never did learn to play well, but my mother, Doreen and her husband Lewis Hewitt could all play well.

Another memory I have is of playing with costume jewelry that she had, including clip on earrings.  She had pierced ears, and so did I but she also has clip on earrings.  She would go through her jewelry box and let me play with some of the costume jewelry pieces.

Unfortunately, something happened to cause Nanny to not really associate with her family. The details of what happened have never been made known to me, but the first time I ever met any of her relatives was at her funeral.  Since writing this blog I have heard many stories/theories on what caused the rift with her family.    As they involve people still living, I prefer to keep them to myself at this time.  

My earliest memories of my grandmother are of the house on Dunvegan Rd in St. Catharines, but later she moved to Niagara Falls.

The last Christmas we spent together was 25 Dec 1986.  That day was a Christmas dinner which we all had together. The get-together went well into the evening.  In the middle of the night she woke my grandfather, speaking weird gibberish, and was rushed to the hospital.  She had a brain aneurysm.

Doreen (Knox) Hewitt died 26 Dec 1986 in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

Her funeral was the first funeral I had attended.  

I miss her and think of her often.  

In 2014 following the death of her husband Lewis, her ashes (and his) were committed to the Niagara River as she had wanted.