Ethel Pauline Menzies

Dolly (Pauline) Menzies (Jones) passed away peacefully on March 18, 2026 in Kanata, ON. Born July 28, 1925, in Cupar, SK, her century in this world was marked by adventures she could only dream of as a girl growing up in the Great Depression dust bowl towns of Avonlea and Rouleau, SK. She eventually moved with her parents and siblings to Regina, where she met Arthur Whyte Menzies. 

After completing her nursing training at Regina General Hospital, Dolly and Arthur were married on Dec. 29, 1948 and launched their incredible journey together. Their story passed through life in trailers while on seismic crews in southern Saskatchewan to Calgary, back to Regina, then Edmonton and Calgary again before, in 1967, Arthur accepted an overseas posting in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, England. They spent the next 10 years there where Dolly enjoyed travel, golf, London’s markets, theatres, church, new friends and even the occasional garden party at Buckingham Palace while raising three children. Travels included destinations such as Amsterdam, Paris, Barcelona, Rome, Jerusalem, Athens, Istanbul, Crete, Venice and Tunis. They were then transferred to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where they explored the Amazon and made more friends within the ex-pat community before returning to Canada. Their stay in Calgary again was fairly brief and they returned to England for five more years in Chobham and Mayfair, located within walking distance of Dolly’s favourite locations, Fortnum & Mason and Harrod’s. 

Upon Arthur’s retirement, the couple took the long way home to Calgary, visiting Egypt, Kuwait, India, Singapore, Australia, Bali, Japan and China - all among the faraway places with strange sounding names she dreamed of as a young woman listening at night to train whistles echoing along the Soo Line to Moose Jaw. In retirement, Dolly and Art reunited with many old oil business friends and were avid golfers at Canyon Meadows while actively engaged at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church. Travels to England, Scotland, Europe, New York, southern California and the west coast continued until Arthur’s death in 2009. 

In 2013, Dolly moved to Kanata, ON, to be closer to her daughter, Jennifer. Last year, she celebrated her 100th birthday with greetings from King Charles and visits from all her children, in-laws, grandchildren and great grandchildren. 

She was predeceased by Arthur, her parents George and May (Phillips), her sisters Jeanne and Joyce (Boulter) and brother Doug. She is survived by her daughter Jennifer (Bob) Henry of Dunrobin, sons Graeme of Vancouver and Peter (Pat) of Calgary, grandchildren Patrick (Lindsay) Henry, Paige (Eric) Brisson, Ashley (Chris Jones) Menzies, Evan (Sarah) Menzies and Baird (Alison Delaney) Menzies, one great granddaughter, Victoria Menzies, and six great grandsons - Nolan and Bryson Henry, Cruz and Kain Brisson, Lucas and Timothy Menzies. 

Donations can be made in lieu of flowers to the Dementia Society of Ottawa.

The family would like to express its deepest thanks to the staff and Dolly’s many friends and neighbours at Red Oak Retirement Residence for their care and many kindnesses over the years. 

Details of a funeral service to be held in Calgary in the summer will be announced in the coming weeks after which Dolly’s ashes will be buried next to Arthur’s in Regina, where their stories, travels and triumphs in life together began.