Forty-five-year Prince George resident Una (Roy) McFarlane was born in 1932 and raised in Lethbridge, Alta.
She was the youngest of three children.
Her father always wanted his children to get a good education; in fact he felt it was one of the important things in life that he never got the chance to do, so he wanted education for his children.
After graduating from high school and with the encouragement of her father, Una moved to B.C. to attend the University of British Columbia (UBC). She wanted to train as a nurse but her father didn't feel that the nursing profession was right for her so instead she studied home economics, also known as family and consumer sciences. Una said, "I really wanted to train as a nurse but since my father was paying for my schooling, my second choice was home economics."
Una graduated from UBC and spent several years teaching students in the field of home economics, a study that deals with the economics and management of the home and community. To be specific, home economics is a field of formal study including such topics as consumer education, institutional management, interior design, home furnishing, cleaning, handicrafts, sewing, clothing and textiles, cooking, nutrition, food preservation, hygiene, child development and family relationships. This knowledge can help prepare students for homemaking or professional careers. In fact, in the early 1900s, home economics classes were intended to ready young women for their duties in the home.
Una was busy with her studies when along came the love of her life, Bob McFarlane. He was to become her future husband, her best friend, and the father of their seven beautiful daughters. Bob McFarlane, an identical twin, was born in Victoria in 1929. His mother died shortly after the twins were born. Una explained, "Bob was just an infant when his mother died. Times were hard back then but the family managed to keep the twins together. An older couple adopted them both at nine months of age and raised them to become two truly great men."
Una said, "Bob and I met at a wedding in Lethbridge and we soon discovered that we were both living at Acadia Camp (residence) at UBC. There was an instant attraction and the rest is history."
They both graduated from UBC in 1954 and then married later that year in Lethbridge. Bob then articled to become a Chartered Accountant with Winspear, Hamilton and Anderson in Vancouver for five years.
Una taught home economics for a short time at Capitol Hill school in Burnaby before quitting in order to start their family.
Bob and Una were married in 1954 and the children started to arrive one little girl at a time until they had seven beautiful daughters. It all started with Bonnie (Warren) Woods, who lives in Prince George, Sharon Smith in Williams Lake, Kristine McFarlane in Prince George, Laurie McFarlane in Sydney, Nova Scotia, and Patti (Dwayne) Nelson in Prince George. Sandi (Cliff) Hall lives in Prince George but they are currently in Australia on a teacher exchange program. The baby of the family, Wendy Fulford lives in White Rock. The older girls started school in Burnaby, but all seven attended school and graduated in Prince George. There are now 15 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren.
Una said, "Bob worked for Winspear, Higgins, Stevenson and Doane when he was transferred to Prince George in 1970. I was very happy living at the coast so it took me nearly a year to really settle in here but, before I knew it, I loved Prince George. I spent the first years here raising the girls. When the youngest started school I got a part time job at Woodward's. I later taught for three years at Prince George Senior Secondary (PGSS) and then in 1980 I started working at Birk's Jewelry store in Pine Centre Mall. I really enjoyed that job; the people and the work were all so very interesting.
Bob became ill with esophageal cancer in 1989 and passed away in 1990. It was a very sad time for all of us. He was a great man and a wonderful father to our girls and a wonderful grandfather to the grand-children."
Bob was a longtime member of the Chamber of Commerce and served as president in 1976. He was a member of the Downtown Rotary Club and served as president in the 1980s. Bob was also a member of the Masonic Lodge and a Shriner where he spent many years as one of the Shriner clowns. Bob was a great volunteer and spent many long hours attending meetings, along with many others, to make UNBC a reality for the City of Prince George.
Una is also a steadfast volunteer.
She started volunteering with Meals on Wheels shortly after moving to Prince George. She has volunteered with the Hospital Auxiliary for the past 25 years and can usually be found on Monday mornings working at the Order of the Eastern Star's Cancer Dressing Station making bandages and dressings for cancer patients. She has been a member of the Order of the Eastern Star for the past 40 years.
One of Una's favorite hobbies is porcelain doll making and all the details that go with it. She loves to sew and spent a couple of years manning a booth at the Studio Fair where she sold her homemade dolls.
Una concludes by saying, "I don't do as much as I used to. My focus has always been and still is my family and my friends. I have had the opportunity to travel and have seen much of the world; it is a big and wonderful world but there is no place like home and my treasured time with family and friends."
