I recently found this Obituary for, not a blood relative, but the sister of my dad’s brother’s wife. I never knew my Aunt Rhoda Johnston because she died very young, but I think I would have liked to have met her sister! I don’t know if anyone else in Dad’s family ever knew her.
BYERS, Bettina (Clarissa Elizabeth) December 18, 1909 September 8, 2006 Passed away in Victoria on September 8th in her 97th year. Daughter of Julia and James Byers of Chatham, Ontario, and sister of the late Ellis Stephen (Ted) Byers and Rhoda Johnston. She is survived by her nieces, Nancy and Barbara Byers and the family of her late nephew, David Byers. Bettina began to study ballet in 1932 with the Toronto Conservatory and in the summers with the Royal Academy of Dancing in London, England. In 1937 she moved to London for fulltime study and won a R.A.D. choreography scholarship that enabled her to study with Ninette de Valois and Frederick Ashton. She returned to Toronto in 1939 and founded the Academy of Ballet, where she taught until she retired in 1966. That same year she moved to Victoria with her teaching partner and dear companion, Marjorie Haskins, who predeceased her. In 1975, Bettina became the first Canadian recipient of a fellowship with the Royal Academy of Dancing. Bettina was a keen gardener, and enjoyed many crafts in association with the Victoria Lapidary and Mineral Society. Thanks to the help of kind and devoted friends and caregivers, she was able to remain in her home until July of this year. The staff of Glenwarren Lodge gave her exceptional care and kindness in her final days. If you wish to remember Bettina with a donation, please consider an organization devoted to the welfare of wild animals and birds, which she passionately loved.
In an article about the Canadian Dance Company, I also learned that Rhoda Byers was a Mezza-saprano and Bettina accompanied her on the piano in their younger years, before Bettina decided to pursue dance. I’m hoping to track down some photos to add to this.
When Rhoda died, my uncle Forrest moved to Africa, before I was born and where he stayed until I was a teenager. I knew when I met him that he was the “odd” child of his family. He was very much into the Arts, especially enthusiastic about Opera. As far as I can recall, no one else in my Dad’s family shared these interests with him, but pictures I’ve found of their younger days seem to indicate that he was very close to his mother. Perhaps he learned about them from her.