A British Columbia woman who at the age of 102 made a well-publicized trip to Washington, D.C., last year to return an emotional symbol of thanks has died.
Hilda Cann passed away recently at a Kelowna, B.C., hospice.
She had successful surgery for colon cancer last summer, but elected not to undergo radiation for a separate diagnosis of liver cancer.
"She chose to just enjoy the days that God was giving her," said her son, Bill Cann. "Mom had been in good health until January, when she had a fall, and her condition deteriorated."
Born in Manitoba, Cann served as a U.S. military nurse during the Second World War.
During her service, a dying airmen asked her to make a trip to his Ohio home to pass on a final message of love.
Cann agreed and met with the widow in the summer of 1945.
Later, as a token of her appreciation, the widow sent Cann a floral-patterned, linen tablecloth.
Though it was one of her most treasured possessions, Cann decided on her 100th birthday to return the tablecloth to American hands.
Last June, she travelled to Washington, D.C., to present the tablecloth to the American Women's Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery.
Five retired U.S. generals, among other dignitaries, received Cann who was also interviewed by U.S. and Canadian media.
She also met with young U.S. Army nurses who held the rank of first lieutenant, the same rank she had during the war.
"It's such a fundamentally human story of how Hilda made it her mission to deliver, in person, a message of love from a dying man to his wife," said Lt.-Col Douglas Martin, an attache at the Canadian Embassy, at the time.
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