Judith Susanne Bergthorson
July 7, 1948 – January 10, 2015
After a year long battle with cancer Judith died peacefully at the McKinney Creek Hospice in Maple Ridge with her family by her side. She leaves her husband/partner Robert Hornsey, mother Irene Bergthorson, daughter Tiffany Waite, sons James and Magnus Mason and partner Natasha Smikles, son Andrew Zieger, sister Trina Bjornsson and her husband Alan (Muzz), brother Donald (Max) Bergthorson and his wife Pat, brother Michael Bergthorson and wife Terry, stepdaughters Erin and Carmanah Hornsey, grandson Keenan Thomson, granddaughter Iyla O’Brien-Hornsey Soucy, grandson Des Bowman and close friends Mark and Leah Palsson. She also leaves several nieces and nephews. We have utmost praise and appreciation for all the staff of the McKinney Creek facility and the entire BC Cancer Agency. Special thanks to our family doctor Christopher Dodds, hospice support doctor Dr. Lim, and cancer agency oncologist Dr. Hoskins and his team. Judith was born in Winnipeg and grew up in Lundar and Stonewall, Manitoba. In Manitoba she was an active vocal and piano instructor as well as musical director of the Stonewall Quarry Choristers, and a director of the local Arts Council. Judith lived in BC briefly from 1969 to 1974 where she was a childcare worker and originally met Robert Hornsey. Judith returned to Manitoba raised her children to adulthood and made an impact on the musical fabric of Stonewall. In 2002 Judith returned to Maple Ridge BC to marry her old friend Robert Hornsey. Over the last 12 years Judith has made a substantial contribution to the cultural development of Pitt Meadows and Maple Ridge. She was the founder and co-owner of the Bergthorson Academy of Musical Arts, was president of BCMEPS – Bergthorson Community Musical Education Performance Society that is the hosting agency for the True North Fraser Bluegrass Festival. She is a past director of the Maple Ridge Choral Society, Odeum Theatre Society and generous contributor to many school and community events including the Adstock Festival. Judith always saw her work with music as a community development exercise where music was a vehicle to bring positive change to people’s lives, the families they were part of and communities they lived in. Her efforts have directly touched more than 5000 lives by, as she often said “giving wings to the music inside you.” A musical memorial Tribute to Judith’s life will be held February 8, 4-8pm at The ACT. Watch the Bergthorson Facebook and Website pages for more details.