Feb. 6, 1934 — Oct. 23, 2024 Mom Moved on today .
.. My mom, Anna-Mae Stapley, known her whole life as Toots, moved on to the next part of her journey on Oct.
23, 2024. Toots was born in Rainy River, Ontario, Canada, on Feb. 6, 1934.
Her parents, Jenny and Stan Vennes, were tough square-shaped Scandinavians who made a living the old fashioned way, with hard work. Stan worked for Canadian Pacific Railroad as a “hosler.” Jenny worked for the State Parliament as a secretary.
These were winter jobs, held in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Summer jobs were spent at Lake of the Woods with Stan working as a hunting and fishing guide, with Jenny feeding the clients that came to Lake of the Woods to hunt moose or ducks and fish for the Great Northern Walleye. Toots grew up in a life that was filled with the outdoors.
Money was short but life experience was exhilarating. In 1955, Toots met George William Inglis. They married and produced one daughter, Georgina Christine Inglis.
George was a Scotsman from Capetown, South Africa. His family were tobacco growers. George fancied himself a photographer and writer.
He wrote for a number of papers in Canada and later, when he and Toots immigrated to the United States, papers in California, including the Sacramento Bee and Modesto Bee (McClatchy Papers) and the San Luis Obispo Telegram Tribune. In 1960, George and Toots divorced and Toots found herself raising her daughter as a single mother. Toots had a sixth-grade education and secretarial skills.
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