Tribute

Audrey Louise Inch was born in Hamilton, Ontario, the third of four children, to George and Marjorie Inch. She grew up in Hamilton and went to McMaster University, where she earned a B.A. Later, she got her teaching credentials and taught in Tillsonburg.

In 1955, she married John Starr and they moved to Sarnia where John worked at Dow Chemical. Audrey taught there for a few years, until the arrival of their first child, Jane, in 1958. Their second child, Alison, followed 18 months later.

In 1961 they moved to Edmonton, Alberta, where they welcomed sons Tommy (1962) and Peter (1964). Sadly, Tommy was born with haemophilia and died at the age of two, in 1965.

Later, Audrey went back to school, earning a B.Ed. and a teacher-librarian certificate at the University of Alberta, and became a teacher-librarian with the Edmonton Public School Board. She started at Grace Martin Elementary School, and later split her time between Oliver School and MacDougall School.

In 1981 her marriage to John ended, and later she met Bob Wild, the new minister at St. Augustine’s Anglican Church in Edmonton. They were married on New Year’s Eve, 1983, a marriage that lasted 41 years.

In 1989 Audrey and Bob retired and moved to Salt Spring Island, where they built a lovely home and garden. They had an orchard, a greenhouse, a workshop for Bob, and masses of gorgeous flower beds. Audrey was well-known (and often teased) for the hundreds of tomato plants she started and gave away every year.

Both before and after retirement, Audrey and Bob enjoyed travelling, camping, and canoeing. They had some wonderful trips to places such as the British Isles, the Bowron Lakes, Haida Gwaii, the BC Coastal Inside Passage, northern BC and Yukon, Canada’s East Coast, and, of course, visiting extended family and friends in Ontario.

Audrey volunteered at the Salt Spring Public Library, working on the circulation desk, introducing the Dewey Decimal System, helping with the change to a library computer system and the transition to a new library building, and sending out overdue notices. In 2022 she received an award for Lifetime Achievement in Library Service. She couldn’t help herself – even when she and Bob sold their house and moved to Meadowbrook, she volunteered to organize their library, too.

While building their dream home on Salt Spring, Audrey and Bob adopted Daisy, a border collie, as a companion. Daisy was later followed by Mattie, and then Sam, the labradoodle. Sam accompanied them to Meadowbrook, where he was very popular and lived to a good age.

She and Bob were committed to service and social justice work. Audrey was active in the Anglican church, Ometepe Coffee and possibly her favourite, the Raging Grannies. She had a real knack for topical song parodies. She donated to many social and environmental causes.

She campaigned for (and donated to the building of) the Rainbow Recreation Centre, where she enjoyed many years of aquafit classes. She loved swimming from a very young age.

Predeceased by son Tommy, parents George and Marjorie Inch, brothers Doug and George Inch, and Bob’s grandchildren Sara Ewen and Michael Morgan.

Her husband, Bob Wild, followed her into the unknown on March 14th, 2025.

Audrey is survived by her sister Jacqueline (Dennis) Carson; children Jane Starr (Marcel Chichak), Alison Starr, and Peter Starr; grandchildren Tom Chichak (Pam Kriangkum), Will Chichak, and Riel Starr; Bob’s children Anne Millerd (John) and Peter Wild (Tara) and their three siblings (Cathy, Stephen and Nora), Bob’s seven grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren; and many nephews, nieces, and other relatives in both the Inch and Starr families.

In Audrey’s memory, donations can be made to Medecins Sans Frontieres, Nature Conservancy of Canada, or the Salt Spring Island Conservancy.

Cremation has taken place. A joint service and reception are planned for Bob and Audrey for Saturday May 3rd, at All Saints Anglican Church on Salt Spring Island. Details to be announced.