Home Forums Blogs Articles Photos Videos Contact FAQ

For Better or For Worse - Characters

For Better or For Worse - Characters: Encyclopedia II - For Better or For Worse - Characters

For Better or For Worse - Main characters. John Patterson (b. February 17, 1949), is a dentist whose hobby is model railroading. John appears less often than his wife Elly. Elly Patterson, née Richards (born August 26, 1951), is a housewife turned book store owner. She tends to take life quite seriously, sometimes to the point of appearing grumpy. Michael (b. April 28, 1976), is oldest of Elly and John Patterson's three children. He works as a senior editor at Portrait magazine. He ...

For Better or For Worse: Encyclopedia II - For Better or For Worse - Characters

For Better or For Worse - Characters

For Better or For Worse - Main characters

John Patterson (b. February 17, 1949), is a dentist whose hobby is model railroading. John appears less often than his wife Elly. Elly Patterson, née Richards (born August 26, 1951), is a housewife turned book store owner. She tends to take life quite seriously, sometimes to the point of appearing grumpy.

Michael (b. April 28, 1976), is oldest of Elly and John Patterson's three children. He works as a senior editor at Portrait magazine. He is married to Deanna Sobinski (b. December 13, 1976), who is a pharmacist. The couple have had two children: a daughter named Meredith Anne (b. October 10, 2002) and a baby boy named Robin Michael (b. November 1, 2004).

During the couple's marriage preparations (not to mention after!), Deanna was constantly at odds with her unruly mother.

Elizabeth (b. April 26, 1981), John and Elly's adult daughter, teaches on an Indian reserve in the fictional town of Mtigwaki in Northern Ontario. Throughout her childhood, her brother Michael referred to her by such names as "Lizardbreath" and "Sistwirp."

April (b. April 1, 1991) is the teenage daughter of John and Elly Patterson.

Elly's father, Jim Richards (b. March 21, 1921) is known to the Pattersons and readers as "Grandpa Jim". Jim is a World War II veteran of the Royal Canadian Air Force.

Iris (b. May 19, 1926) is Jim Richards' second wife, who entered the story after Elly's mother, Marian, died in 1998.

For Better or For Worse - Supporting characters

Agnes Dingle The former landlord of Michael and Weed while the two were attending the University of Western Ontario in London. Though often moody and crabby, she was shown in several instances to have a gentle heart deep inside her. Candace Halloran Elizabeth's roommate at Nipissing University in North Bay, Ontario (near Johnston's current residence in Corbeil). The two have known each other since their middle school days, but eventually grew apart. They reunited during Elizabeth's first year at university and have since become close friends. Moira Kinney Elly's trusted employee at the bookstore. Moira used to work for the previous owner of the toy store, Lily Petrucci. Elly kept Moira on staff when she took over the store in 2000. Shannon Lake A girl in April's home economics class with special needs. When Shannon got lost in a mall in March 2005, April happened to be there, and was able to stay with Shannon until Mrs. Lake found her. [2] Ted McCaulay A doctor by profession, Ted is John's friend and was briefly married. Despite his increasing age, Ted is still single and for years lived with his mother, who died in 2005. Becky McGuire April's on-again, off-again friend. In a January 2005 plot line, another character claimed that Becky was sexually active (in FBorFW-speak, she was labelled as "hands on", "gig" and "roadside", and was stated to have "been there"), although Becky has never confirmed this. Subsequent episodes deal with Becky's rejection by an older boy. Lawrence Poirier Michael's friend since childhood. In 1993 it was revealed that Lawrence is gay. He remains a family friend, and hired Elizabeth to work for his landscaping business for two summers. Olivia "Lovey" Saltzman Michael and Deanna's current landlord. She is very kind to Michael and Deanna, often helping the couple out by preparing meals and babysitting the kids. Ned Tanner Not a character but a grinning, six-inch, anatomically correct figurine with bendable plastic limbs, colourful boxer shorts and suction cups. Josef "Weed" Weeder, a photographer who often works with Michael, regards "Ned" as his tongue-in-cheek mascot. "Weed" (Josef Myron Weeder) A professional photographer who is Michael's university friend, roommate and later journalistic partner.

For Better or For Worse - Minor characters

Andrea Sobinski Deanna's older sister. Anne Nichols The Pattersons' longtime neighbor. For years a housewife and babysitter, Anne in recent years has managed the food and catering services at a local hotel. A close confidante of Elly in the early years of the strip, she has appeared less often recently– in part because of her perpetually rocky marriage, partly modeled after Johnston's first marriage, which ended in divorce. Anthony Caine Elizabeth's boyfriend in high school, he later decided to be "just a friend." He now manages the garage and other businesses owned by Gordon Mayes, and is married — unhappily — to Thérèse. Ardith Narayan Babysitter for Michael and Deanna's two children. Beatrice Alfarero Elly's assistant at the bookstore; hired after the firing of Kortney. Bev Cruikshank John's sister, who with her husband Dan operates a farm in Manitoba. Bev is modeled after Johnston's actual sister-in-law, Beth Cruikshank. Brad Luggsworth A grade-school classmate of Michael who bullied him in his elementary school days. He changed as an adult and became a policeman. Brian Enjo Michael's former classmate and the son of Keith and Carol Enjo, neighbors of the Pattersons. Moved to Japan and married a Japanese woman. Carleen Stein "Weed's" long-time photographic assistant, more recently his girlfriend. Carrie Patterson John's mother. Connie Poirier Mother of Lawrence and Elly's closest friend since their days at the University of Toronto. Dawn Enjo She became Elizabeth's friend when her family moved into Connie Porier's former home (Connie returned a year later and bought another neighbouring house). She is a descendant of Japanese-Canadian immigrants. Dennis North A friend of Lawrence and his partner, Nicholas. Duncan Anderson April's classmate and band mate in the group 4Evah. Eric Chamberlain Elizabeth's ex-boyfriend from university. Elizabeth broke off the relationship when she caught him seeing another woman. Fiona Brass A distant cousin of John who, during a brief stay with the Pattersons, nearly ate them out of house and home. Later became the manager of a disreputable pool hall in town. Gary Crane Principal of the small school where Elizabeth teaches. Georgia Richards Wife of Phil Richards, Elly's younger brother. Gerald Forsythe April's boyfriend; also a member of the band 4Evah. Gordon Mayes Michael's friend from childhood. The son of alcoholic and sometimes abusive parents, he made his own fortune by turning an auto-repair garage into several successful businesses. He married his high school classmate, the former Tracey Wells, and the couple have two children. Greg Thomas Connie's second and current husband. Jean Baker John's longtime assistant at the dental clinic. Jeremy Jones Classmate of April. In elementary school he mercilessly bullied her and finally tried to run her down in a bicycle chase, only to crash into an oncoming car and severely break his leg. He and April reached a truce of sorts after the accident but rarely speak to each other. Jesse Mukwa A bright if rambunctious boy in Elizabeth's school class at the Ojibwa reservation in Mtigwaki. Kevin Smyth Deanna's assistant during a medical mission to Honduras in 1999. Kortney Krelbutz Former assistant at Elly's bookstore. Kortney was fired for embezzlement and for threatening April when she threatened to tell her mother. Laurie McLeod-Shabogesic Lily Petrucci Former owner of Lilliput's Bookstore; later retired and sold the business to Elly, who had worked there for six years. Marian Richards Elly's mother, who died in 1998 after a long bout with heart disease. The series about Marian's final days was heavily based on Johnston's own experiences with the death of her mother, Ursula Ridgway. A few of the real-life Ursula's quotes were placed in Marian's mouth to reflect her courage in the face of death. Martha McRae Michael's first girlfriend. When Michael failed his first driving test he blamed it on Martha breaking off the relationship just before the test. Maxine Hébert A friend of Deanna. Mira Sobinski Deanna's mother, notorious for her overbearing and obnoxious ways. Nicholas Browne Lawrence's domestic partner with whom he co-owns a landscaping business. Paul Bergan April's guitar instructor. Phil Richards Elly's younger brother, a trumpeter and music teacher known for being as adventurous and high-spirited as his sister is anxious and stress-prone. Lived in Millborough for several years and appeared frequently in the strip, but has appeared rarely since he and his wife, Georgia, moved to Montreal several years ago. Rhetta Blum Michael's second girlfriend, from his later high school years. The New Bentwood Rockers A band of aged musicians assembled by Jim at the retirement home where he lives. Years earlier, while living in Vancouver, he had formed another band known as the Bentwood Rockers. Ruby Andrews Candace's aunt, who owned a convenience store in North Bay, where her niece and Elizabeth went to university. Ruby was mugged while minding the store; she recovered but later sold the business. Rudy Dodd Candace's boyfriend. Sharon Edwards Elizabeth's favourite teacher during her middle school years, Sharon inspired her greatly by building a teaching career despite being a paraplegic (she was badly injured in a motorcycle crash as a teenager). Recently married and is now Sharon Taylor. Shawna-Marie Verano A high-school classmate of Elizabeth. Steve Nichols Anne's husband and the Pattersons' neighbour. His wife once caught him having an affair, and their marriage has never fully recovered. Thelma Baird A kindly old woman who was the Patterson family's first neighbour. A breeder of English sheepdogs, Thelma gave a puppy to her neighbours, who named him Farley. (Johnston chose the name to honour the Canadian writer Farley Mowat.) Her death in 1987 was the first in FBorFW and served notice the strip would not shy away from serious topics.) Thérèse Caine Anthony's wife, she has been shown as jealous of his spending time with Elizabeth — and recently it's been revealed that perhaps the jealousy has due cause. Tracey Mayes wife of Gordon and a former classmate of Michael. Vivian Crane Warren Blackwood A helicopter pilot who has kept up a long-distance friendship with Elizabeth. Wilfred Sobinski Mira's father; a hardware store owner. William Patterson John's father; a retired farmer in Manitoba.

For Better or For Worse - Animals

Farley (Patterson) Old English Sheepdog, the Patterson's first family dog. A so-called runt from the last litter of Thelma Baird's dog Lily, Elly felt sorry for the puppy and adopted him. Farley grew up alongside Michael and Elizabeth, later siring a litter of his own with the neighbor's dog Sera, resulting in his son, Edgar. Farley died shortly after rescuing April from the creek near the Patterson's home. Edgar (Patterson) Old English Sheepdog/Labrador Retriever mixed breed, the Patterson's second family dog, and offspring of Farley and Sera. He was part of April's rescue by barking to warn the family. After Farley's heroic passing, Edgar was promoted to the family dog position, and is at odds with the rabbit Mr. B from time to time. (Johnston often compares his character to Don Knotts) Dixie (Patterson) Shetland Sheepdog, the Patterson's third family dog. Originally Grandpa Jim's dog, Elly took her in after he moved into a senior residence. Dixie still misses Grandpa Jim, but has settled down into the Patterson home, taking the role as Edgar's devout follower - wherever he goes, whatever he does, she copies. Sera (Poirier) Labrador Retriever, the Poirier's family dog. Connie bought her as a puppy while waiting for the day when she would have grandchildren of her own to play with. After Lawrence's confession of being gay, Connie took her husband's words to heart - "Que sera sera" - and named the puppy "Sera". Sera gave birth to a litter of puppies sired by Farley, one of them adopted by the Pattersons and named Edgar. Lily (Baird) Old English Sheepdog, Thelma Baird's dog. From her last litter, Elly adopted the runt - as Thelma called him - and named him Farley. Lily died of old age, contributing slightly to Thelma's move from Millborough.

Mr. B Elizabeth and April Patterson's large white rabbit. His full name is Sheldon Fuzzlewhite Bunsworthby, but has been abbreviated to simply "Mr. B". Elizabeth brought him home from her farm stay, and April took responsibility over him. He is sometimes at odds with the family dog, but not much else is known about him. Mr. B died in 2002. April has a new rabbit, Butterscotch. Butterscotch April Patterson's second rabbit, named for her coloring. After April's school friends found that Mr. B had passed away, they informed her that a schoolmate was looking for someone to take his pet rabbit. April adopted the rabbit and took her home. Though more delicate than Mr. B, Butterscotch has proven to be equally - or even more so - full of mischief, has a bad habit of emptying her cage's wood chips onto the floor, and is starting to get the hang of taking on the dogs as Mr. B once did. Butterscoth has also fallen in love with Elly's bunny slippers, either following Elly everywhere when she uses them, or "playing" with them when they are in the closet.

Daphne One of the horses on Bev and Dan Cruikshank's farm that Elizabeth Patterson rode during her stay with them. With a mind of her own and an understanding of Elizabeth's lack of confidence with her, Daphne started to get the better of her new rider. Eventually, Elizabeth did learn to ride her properly, though she could understand why people preferred their cars to horses - softer seats being one reason. Shiimsa Elizabeth Patterson's cat. Discovered as a stray kitten by Elizabeth's student Jesse, he persuaded/manipulated Elizabeth to take her in. Initially unreceptive to the expense, messes and shedding hair, Elizabeth has come to love her cat, hairballs and all. (Shiimsa means "little animal friend" in Ojibwe.)