Betty "Lynn" Ross (nee Pilkington)

A graveside service will be held on Thursday, September 17, 2026 at Evergreen Memorial Gardens at 1:00 pm. Friends are invited to meet at the cemetery. A reception will follow the service at McKenzies Portage Funeral Chapel. The service will be livestreamed and may be viewed by registering at the link below. 

Peacefully on May 16, 2026, Betty “Lynn” Ross passed away at the age of 79 years, in Surrey, British Columbia following a courageous battle with Parkinson's and Lewis Body Dementia. She is at peace now and no longer suffering.

Lynn was born in Portage la Prairie, Manitoba on March 20, 1947, and grew up on the farm in Rosendale. She attended Hartford elementary school and Rossendale High School, and later Wheat City Business school in Brandon Manitoba. Her first job was in the offices of the Timothy Eaton Co. and she later retired in 2005 from Berendsen Fluid Power in Winnipeg. She lived for many years in Winnipeg and later near the town of Vita, Manitoba, on an acreage. She moved to Surrey, BC in 2021 following the death of her second husband.

Lynn had many hobbies including cooking, baking, reading, knitting, cake decorating, decoupage, curling, fishing, cross country skiing, and travel. She had many friends and enjoyed spending time with family.

Lynn became Mom to Sandra and Jim when she married Stan Ross in 1968, and later her family grew again to include Jason and Karen, when she married Willie Bilawchuk in 1999.

She will be greatly missed by her step children: daughter Sandra (Dave) Wheeler - grandchildren Michelle (Marc), Nicole (Chris), and Cameron (Anastasiia); son Jim Ross -grandchildren Kyle and Angela; son Jason (Carrie) Bilawchuk - granddaughters Allana and Jayme; daughter Karen Hyriniuk - grandsons Nathan and Ryan; 6 great grandchildren; brother Gordon Pilkington; sister Connie Brown (Paul) and sister-in-law Carol Pilkington; along with many nieces and nephews who adored her. One of her great nephews referred to her as “Super Lynn”.

Lynn was predeceased by her parents, William “Bill” Pilkington and Clarice Marion Pilkington (nee Kane), first husband-Stanley “Stan” Ross, second husband Wilmer “Willie” Bilawchuk, brother Wilfred Pilkington, and sister-in-law Patricia “Pat” Pilkington.

A graveside service will be held on Thursday, September 17, 2026 at Evergreen Memorial Gardens (1 Cottonwood Dr. Portage la Prairie, just off the far West end of Crescent Rd. past Yellowquill School) at 1:00 pm. Friends are invited to meet at the cemetery. A reception will follow the service at McKenzies Portage Funeral Chape. The service will be livestreamed and may be viewed by registering at the link below.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Lynn’s memory to Alzheimer Society of Canada, 20 Eglinton Avenue West, 16th Floor, Toronto, Ontario M4R 1K8 or Parkinson Canada, 4211 Yonge Street, Suite 316, Toronto, ON M2P 2A9 or a charity of your choice.

A tree will be planted in memory and cared for by McKenzies Portage Funeral Chapel. www.mckenziesportagefuneralchapel.com