Muriel Axe moved to Salmon Arm in 1996 when she was 84 years of age to be near her sister and brother-in-law Margaret and Dennis Potter, her niece Carol Edgell and her family, and closer to her nephew Frank Potter and his family in Calgary. Carol relates that Muriel was like a second mother to her and Frank—they were very close.
For twelve wonderful years Muriel enjoyed daily walks along the foreshore, the wharf and around McGuire Lake. She lived close to the water’s edge so was next to what she loved—the water, birds, ducks and turtles that she knew by name. She could easily spend a good part of everyday outside— she cherished the wonder and peace of nature. Her passionate reverence for nature and all of life was evident when she scooped up spiders or bugs in the house and carried them outside.
Muriel thought Salmon Arm was the friendliest place because she would walk down the street or along the wharf and trails and meet everyone. A hallmark of her life was her keen interest in people, what they were doing and what was going on in the natural world around her and in her adopted city. She enjoyed each day and lived it to the fullest.
One of the secrets of her long and fulfilling life was her attitude that the glass was always half full. Her niece Carol remembers Muriel as one of the most positive people around. She also recounts that ‘she never had an unkind word about anyone and was a kind and lovely human being with a beautiful smile.’
Muriel, a widow since 1985, had no children of her own, but was part of her niece’s and nephew’s families. She took part in every family celebration. She traveled widely both on her own, and in later years, with family members. Travel satisfied her insatiable curiosity about life and people.
Muriel transmitted her love of nature and her curious, gentle manner to her family, thus leaving a wonderful legacy to those she loved. When she passed away in September 2008, at age 96, Carol and Frank wanted to honour their beloved aunt, so they set up the ‘Potter Edgell Endowment Fund’ in memory of Muriel Axe.
In keeping with Muriel’s love for nature, this fund’s priority is to enhance the natural environment. If volunteers want to do things to preserve and support nature, then this fund will help them to preserve for future generations what Muriel loved and enjoyed—the natural world.
