Matrilinial Monday – Merle Tydfil Bordewick

Name: Merle Tydfil Jones

Called by Grandkids: Grandma

Birth: 1915, Vancouver, BC, Canada

Death: 2012, Belleveue, Washington, USA

Spouse: George Robert Bordewick

Marriage: 1939, Vancouver, Canada, USA

Children: Two boys, two girls, all currently living

Parents: Daniel Thomas Jones and Eliza Anne Howells

Siblings: Marjorie, Edwina, and Ivor

About: Merle was the third child of four born to Daniel and Bessie Jones, both immigrants from Wales who had settled in Vancouver, BC, Canada. When she was born, her father set off to the office to report her birth, but upon arriving, instead of using the name he and his wife had agreed on, which it has been suggested he forgot, he decided to name her for his home town of Merthyr Tydfil, Wales. She grew up in a happy home, surrounded by siblings and cousins. As a teenager she became involved in a church youth group, and there she met a young man by the name of George. The two began to see each other, and she continued to date him throughout her youth. After he had finished basic training for the military, the two married before he was sent off to the east coast of Canada to begin his officer training.

Their first son was born while George was overseas serving in the war. Merle lived with her parents during that time, and spent a great deal of time with her mother and father-in-law as well, especially after their other son was lost soon after departing Canada for the front. George returned home safe and sound, and they had two girls, and the family settled happily into a post-war world. In 1956, only a month after George lost his only remaining family member on his father's side, their final child, a boy, was born. Soon after, George's job went south, and so he began to look for a new job, eventually finding a place in Washington, and moving the whole family across the border to the US. Our family has lived in the area ever since.

George and Merle were very active in the community, both in church and social groups, as well as Masonic groups due to George's membership in that organization. The two traveled and socialized and hosted many family gatherings until George's death in 1992. Merle lived for many years after in their home in Bellevue before moving into a retirement community, then to a group home where she lived until her death in 2012.

Her funeral was attended by all of her children, grandchildren, and both of her great-grandchildren, as well as many more distant family relations and friends, all of whom remembered her fondly. She is greatly missed.

The Bordewick Girls at Merle's birthday