Austina (Brasseur) Parsons has long nurtured her interest in history, particularly those of Victoria and of the Yukon. Austina was born in Dawson City on the shores of the Yukon River, Yukon. Her paternal grandparents had emigrated from Belgium after World War One. Their son, and Austina’s father, Emile (Harry) Brasseur served as Chief Steward aboard one of the Yukon River’s great sternwheelerw. While on winter layoff he met his future wife, Marie Therese DeGives in Vancouver. The couple married, then returned to Dawson City to raise their family.
Their daughter Austina migrated south to Victoria in 1954. After training at Sprott Shaw Business College she began work at Royal Roads Military College in 1955. She met Arthur Parsons in July of that same year. They married in May of 1956. After raising their five children Austina worked for 19 yrs as a care aide at a long term care facility. She retired in 1998. Arthur passed in 2009. Austina still happily resides in the family home.
The Victoria Harbour History Society is grateful for her patronage.
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