Over the years, it took them on trips to England and the Eastern United States as they researched their families. They scoured literally thousands of documents on their journey seeking their roots.
They were the children of the late Elsie (Hunt) and B.W. 'Bubs' Zufelt, and in the interests of full disclosure, before I go any further, I am their cousin. My mother, Muriel (Hunt) Morris and their mother Elsie were sisters. Anne was born in Chapleau, and raised there along with her sisters Betty and Joan, now deceased, and Leslie.
Her father served as Reeve of Chapleau from 1948 to 1955.
A couple of weeks ago, I received an email from Anne advising me that she had been hospitalized but was home, and as she told me about her illness, commented "I hope I'm not depressing you" -- so typical of Anne, always thinking about the other person.
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| Zufelt family: Betty, Elsie, Bubs. Front Leslie, Anne, Joan |
In her email, Anne mentioned our grandmother Edythe Hunt, our 'Nanny', the unshakable lady who was back in England when World War II broke out, joined a nursing unit and stayed until almost the end of the war when she returned to Chapleau. Nanny was an important person in our lives.
When Michael McMullen and I were writing 'The Chapleau Boys Go To War' we referred to Anne as genealogist extraordinaire. If she didn't know a person, she was quick to discover all there was to know. She spent countless hours going over lists of names and generating new ones, and providing answers to our research requests.
With her sisters Betty, Joan and Leslie, she also did a story on our grandmother.
Anne has also been of immense assistance to me with Chapleau Moments.
She also assisted many Chapleau friends in their quests for information about their ancestors.
She and her late husband Michael 'Mike' McGoldrick, raised their four children Jeff, Hugh, Laurie and Toby, in Chapleau but she also found time to be involved in community life.
That involvement began when she was attending Chapleau High School as a student where she participated in the annual school play and was a member of the Bugle Band of 1181 Chapleau High School Cadet Corps.
In the 1970s, during a time of great expansion at Chapleau High School and Chapleau Public School, she served several terms on the Chapleau Board of Education.
A member of the Ladies Auxiliary to Branch Number 5 of the Royal Canadian Legion, she served as its president in 1988-89. She had relatives on both sides of her family who served in Canada's armed forces, including her uncle, my father Flying Officer Jim Morris who was killed on active service in the RCAF in 1943.
She was also active in St. John's Anglican Church, starting as a choir member while growing up in Chapleau. Anne was following a family tradition in the choir where our grandfather George Hunt had been choirmaster, and Nanny, her mother and aunt (my mother) as well as her sisters were choir members. I was in the Junior Choir.
She was also a member of the Anglican Church Women.
Most recently Anne had become a major contributor to the Chapleau History and Genealogy page on Facebook, posting photos and comments about the life and times and people of Chapleau. Her posts brought back great memories, and were greatly appreciated.
Anne and Mike retired to North Bay where she continued her passion for genealogy, but returned home to Chapleau in the Summer to spend time at 'The Camp' with her many good friends.
In North Bay, Anne sang with the Baytones and was a member of the North Bay Genealogical Society.
Shortly after I received her email, her son Hugh messaged me that his mother was back in hospital.
On August 17, Rebecca Anne (Zufelt) McGoldrick died. May she rest in peace. My email is mj.morris@live.ca
Thanks for sharing Anne's story. She will be greatly missed, especially by my mother Maureen.
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