It is with heavy hearts we announce the passing of our mom May Lund on May 1, 2025, who leaves behind a legacy of creativity, family devotion and love. 

May was born in Nanaimo, B.C. to William and Lillian Cottle and is predeceased by her three siblings, Mary Cottle, Barbara Brice (nee Cottle) and George Cottle.  May graduated as a Registered Nurse in Victoria B.C. where she met and married her architect husband, Leo Olaf Lund.  Together they moved to North Vancouver where they raised three daughters Diane Lund (Brian O’Connor), Jennifer Hamner (Richard) and Lori Phillips (Bradley).

She often shared fond memories of her childhood playing in the woods and tide pools of Vancouver Island. Those carefree days spurred on her lifelong love and connection with nature that we all benefited from. Like many of her generation she gave up her career to raise her family, and it was there that her artist soul flourished. 

From knitting Cowichan sweaters, sewing outfits (or costumes) for her daughters; to baking unique birthday cakes, gardening, and arranging dried flowers she tried it all.  May cooked every day often sourcing recipes from the newspaper and she was famous for keeping Leo’s Norwegian heritage alive sharing Scandinavian food and traditions at the annual Lund Christmas Eve gatherings for friends and family.  As the family grew, she became an accomplished oil painter, creating scenes of her favorite places by the sea or snowcapped mountains.   

May loved to recount memories of her travels to Japan, Fiji, New York, Spain, Hawaii and Morocco. She collected Japanese sea glass floats, studied gemstones, tended orchids, enjoyed birdwatching and recited beloved poems by memory.  She was a multifaceted person with many sides – witty, goofy, independent and fiercely private.  

Yet, in the end her greatest masterpiece was her family.  She was a mother, a grandmother and great grandmother who will be missed by her five grandchildren (Kaitlyn, Wesley, Mariah, Carson, and Holly) and three great grandchildren (Arlo, Ivy, and Flynn). 

A fighter to the end: she waged a brave and courageous battle with arthritis, then dementia. She left on her terms on her special day – May Day.  A final fitting flourish on a long and well-lived life. 

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to arthritis society of Canada.

https://arthritis.ca/about-us/partners/community/british-columbia-en?form=FUNDKSZCJCG