August 2, 2023
In Loving Memory ~
Rosalyn E. Hewitson was a Kitimat resident from 1980 until her sudden passing at Kitimat General Hospital on August 2, 2023, at the age of 74. Rosalyn's death was due to pancreatic cancer, unfortunately only discovered a few short days prior to her passing.
Born in 1949 in Saint John, New Brunswick, Rosalyn was a member of a large family, a daughter of the late shipyard employee Levi Kelley and his seamstress wife, Mildred Kelley. Raised and educated in Saint John, Rosalyn was trained as an accounts receivable clerk with a local credit and loan agency.
In 1974, she moved to Toronto, where she met and married Allan Hewitson, who was a public relations manager for the Prudential Insurance Company at its Canadian head office in Toronto.
Rosalyn worked for Rogers Communications for several years before she and Allan moved to Kitimat for Allan's new job as PR Manager at Alcan's Kitimat Works aluminum smelter. Rosalyn was well known in Kitimat since she frequently helped host numerous public relations community social events.
Rosalyn came from a large family where she was the second youngest of three sons and three daughters, but she was predeceased by brothers Peter, Wesley, and Colin and sisters Kathryn and Susan.
She is survived in New Brunswick by her younger sister, Christina Darrah, and her family in Fredericton.
In British Columbia, Rosalyn is survived by her retired husband Allan, her son Craig Hewitson, her daughter-in-law Zo, and her grandchildren Levi and Sophie. She is also survived by her husband's daughter from a previous marriage, Lesley Esme, and her husband, Everton, and son Carson.
She is also survived by daughter-in-law Jennifer Cook (Hewitson), wife of the late Andy Hewitson, another son of Allan's earlier marriage and another victim of cancer, who passed away in Proton Station, Ontario, in 2021, as did Andy's elder sister, a school principal in Milton, Ontario, who succumbed to a brain tumor that same year.
She began to develop a level of dementia a couple of years ago. Supported at all times by her husband and son, Roz managed to enjoy music and sports. She was a fan of the Toronto Maple Leafs and enjoyed nothing more than watching her son Craig play for 13 seasons for the Kitimat Ice Demons. More recently, she was a frequent supporter at her grandson Levi's minor hockey games coached by dad, Craig.
Rosalyn always looked forward to the Kitimat Telethon, where she waited patiently to watch her granddaughter Sophie perform with the local gymnastics club on the Civic Theatre stage. She also liked caring for her roses and deck flower decorations. She will be missed by her Kitimat family and friends.
Husband Allan would like to extend a huge "thank you" to Rosalyn's best friend, Cheryl Groves, who helped with bedside comfort during Rosalyn's short illness, which included a debilitating bout with jaundice, and for her many years of special friendship.