A solemn crowd held an intimate gathering at the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 13 in Terrace, northwest B.C. on Monday to mourn the passing of the late Queen Elizabeth II.
After laying poppies in her honour the gathered crowd sang God Save the King. Patrick Hall of the Terrace Pipes and Drums Society, who serves as the band’s historian and honorary pipe major, led the procession.
Mary Ann Misfeldt of Terrace met Her Majesty in 2005, the year of the veteran, while attending ceremonies in Normandy, France.
Misfeldt had made history the year prior when she became the Legion’s first female national president. She was also the first woman to lead the BC Yukon Command of the Legion and first female president of Branch 13.
“You’re a little bit nervous and a whole lot honoured to have the opportunity,” Misfeldt said of meeting the monarch.
“There was a delegation from the Legion from various parts of Canada… In her graciousness the Queen made a little tour around and I was one of the ones that was lucky enough to be able to salute, touch her hand and curtsy, all in a Legion uniform. So I was very proud. She was a very gracious lady.”
Misfeldt was a leading air woman in the Air Force Police during the early 1960s and worked during her time as dominion president to protect the services and well-being of war-time veterans.
Fighting back tears Misfeldt said the Queen will be missed, summing it up as the end of an era.
“It is a whole lifetime and then some for me, and for most of the people, where she has been a gracious Queen. The world has modernized and the Queen modernized to a certain extent but she was very traditional.”
Among those present were Terrace RCMP members, MLA for Skeena Ellis Ross and City Councillor Brian Downie.
Despite the sadness of the occasion Misfeldt said now is a time to rejoice in the past after 70 years of the Queen’s reign, to look forward to the future and hope for a continued strong relationship with the monarchy.
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