Twin brother of woman who died hours before her daughter's Tofino wedding says she was in her 'glory'
The twin brother of a 52-year-old woman who died over the long weekend hours before her daughter's wedding in Tofino, B.C., says his sister was a "simple Ottawa-valley farm girl" who made life wonderful.
Pat Doyle says his athletic sister, Ann Wittenberg, was a mother of three.
She was surfing for the first time near Long Beach when something happened.
He says her three grief-stricken children described how she was trying to help her youngest, 21-year-old Rachel Emon, when a wave dragged her under.
"Rachel says that her mother pulled her onto the board and the wave took Ann, which would be exactly what she'd do. She was selfless when it came to her own children and her own family. So it would only make sense that she would save her own daughter," Doyle said in an interview from Ontario Thursday morning.
Doyle said his sister had been married just weeks before she went to Tofino and had worked to become fit — weightlifting, cross-fit training and dragon boating.
She hadn't tried surfing.
"She was just living her life. She was in the height of her glory. She was in the height of her joy," he said.
The family had gathered in Tofino for her 23-year-old daughter's wedding.
"Ann was not a risk-taker. She did not know the dangers that lurked in that water," Doyle said, noting that his sister was not a particularly strong swimmer.
Wittenberg and her daughter were paddling on a board when something happened, he said.
It is unclear exactly what happened, but at 10:30 a.m. PT other surfers and bystanders reported seeing a woman in distress.
RCMP said Wittenberg was pulled from the ocean near Long Beach on Sunday morning but could not be revived.
On social media, her daughter Victoria Emon wrote, "My heart is so sore. I love you mom. You were a beautiful inspiration. I miss you."
Doyle says his sister was the eldest of five children who grew up in Calabogie, a small community near Ottawa, Ontario.
"She beat me by 17 minutes. She went out first. She made sure things were OK."
Wittenberg had eloped during March break and she and her husband were described as inseparable.
Chris Wittenberg wrote to CBC saying he's devastated, as it had taken 51 years to find his soulmate.
Doyle applauded his niece for carrying on with her wedding, despite the tragedy.
He said it's exactly what his sister would have wanted.
"She was just a simple Ottawa-valley farm girl who made life wonderful," he said.
"We come from an Irish background. It's in our DNA to celebrate life ... to carry on."
