The characters in Lynn Johnston's cartoon strip For Better or For Worse have extensive back stories. The birthdates of the characters given below were the characters' birthdates as shown on the strip's websiteFor Better or For Worse Classic Content prior to the cartoonist's decision to re-boot the strip from September 1, 2008, returning the setting to the early years of John and Elly's marriage.
Main characters and blood relatives
John Patterson (born February 17, 1950), m. Elizabeth ("Elly") Richards (born August 26, 1951) Michael Thomas ("Mike") (born April 28, 1976), m. (September 15, 2001) Deanna Sobinski (born December 13, 1976) Meredith Anne (born October 10, 2002) Robin Michael (born November 1, 2004) Elizabeth Deborah ("Liz") Caine (born June 26, 1980), m. (August 2008) Anthony Caine James Allen Caine (born c. 2010) April Marian (born April 1, 1991)
John and Elly Patterson John Patterson (born February 17, 1950Classic Content: John), is a dentist, whose hobby is model railroading. Although their marriage was shown as strong, their personalities and priorities often conflict: John is prone to splurging on expensive items such as stereos and luxury automobiles while Elly endeavors to be frugal. He is based on Lynn Johnston's real-life ex-husband Rod, also a dentist and model railroader. The flip side is that often with child discipline John is the cooler head, whereupon Elly is typically hot-tempered in most situations. Although John gets understandably angry over serious issues and dangerous events, he tries to balance it out and be a foil to Elly's frequent worrying and "mother meltdowns".
Elly Patterson, née Richards (born August 26, 1951), began as the strip's housewife protagonist. On occasion, she fills in for one of John's dental assistants, takes English classes, and takes a volunteer job writing for the local paper. She later works in the town library, then a local book store. John and Elly eventually buy the book store, expanding its inventory to include classic toys and model railroad kits. When Elly retires, she sells the title to the bookstore to Moira, an employee of hers. Elly was based on creator Lynn Johnston, who named the character after a late friend of hers.
Michael and Deanna Patterson Michael Thomas Patterson (born April 28, 1976) is the oldest of Elly and John Patterson's three children. An alumnus of the University of Western Ontario, he is a senior editor at Portrait magazine. He marries Deanna Sobinski (born December 13, 1976,Classic Content: Deanna), a pharmacist and also a Western Alumna having been Michael's first childhood crush, with whom he had lost contact during her move to Burlington. She comes back into his life as an adult, the victim of a car crash Michael witnesses. The couple has two children: a daughter named Meredith Anne and a son named Robin Michael. Their apartment burns down, leading them to move back home with John and Elly. They eventually buy the house, while the senior Pattersons move to a nearby smaller house more suitable for an older couple.
Michael completes his first novel, Stone Season, on the night of an apartment fire in December 2006. During the fire, Michael's first instinct was to run into the burning room to save his manuscript; however Michael's poor judgment would then get him hospitalized for carbon monoxide poisoning. This drew heavy criticism from readers for committing such a self-centered act as opposed to most heads of the house whom, in an emergency, would rush to ensure the safety of their wives and children (though in this case Michael only went back for the manuscript after his wife and kids were already safely outside). In February 2007 he is offered a contract for its publication with a lucrative advance. Following his resignation from Portrait magazine rather than agreeing to his publisher's demands that he downsize his staff, Michael determines to concentrate solely on his writing. Deanna supports the family through her work managing the pharmacy in the same building as John's former dental office.
The final Sunday strip projected that in the future, Michael would become a successful author, with four published books and a screenplay deal, and that he would still collaborate regularly with Josef Weeder. Deanna was to leave her pharmacy job to open a small sewing school.
Meredith Anne Patterson Meredith is born at Fairview General Hospital on October 10, 2002Classic Content: Meredith at 5:15 a.m., weighing 7lbs 4oz. She is the daughter of Michael and Deanna. The strip shows her maturity from infancy to becoming a toddler. The final Sunday strip projected that in the future, Meredith has gone into dance and theater at age 10.
Robin Michael Patterson Robin (born November 1, 2004, by Caesarean sectionClassic Content: Robin) is the son of Michael and Deanna. In 2006, he suffers a fever brought on by an ear infection. The final Sunday strip projected that in the future, he is said to have learned how to cook from Deanna at age 8.
Elizabeth Deborah Caine (née Patterson) Elizabeth (born June 26, 1980), John and Elly's adult daughter. Throughout her childhood, her brother Michael refers to her by such names as "Lizardbreath" and "Sistwirp", and they frequently fight to the dismay of Elly and John. As she and Michael mature, they put the sibling rivalry aside and form a good adult relationship, which is bolstered by them both being required to help care for their much-younger sister April. She studies education at Nipissing University in North Bay, does her practice teaching assignment in nearby Garden Village and subsequently teaches on an Indian reserve in the fictional town of Mtigwaki. While at school, Elizabeth rooms with Candace, her childhood frenemy. In 2001, she begins dating a boy named Eric. They move in together, but Eric is emotionally abusive, gas-lighting Elizabeth while cheating on her with her friends.
In a story arc starting in late July 2005 and culminating in the August 11, 2005 strip, she is stalked and assaulted by Howard Bunt, her coworker at a landscaping business owned and operated by her longtime friend Lawrence Poirier and his partner, Nicholas Browne. She is rescued by Anthony Caine, her high school boyfriend, who takes her away from her work immediately after the assault to reveal that his marriage has been failing and that he still loves her.
Elizabeth later declines to renew her teaching contract in Mtigwaki and teaches summer school in Milborough in summer 2006. She acquires a full-time teaching job closer to home and moves back in with her parents until she eventually finds her own place. Although she partakes in a long-distance relationship with Constable Paul Wright, his affair with Elizabeth's replacement teacher Susan ends their romance. When Elizabeth and Anthony both attend the July 2007 wedding of their friend Shawna-Marie, they rekindle their relationship. They become engaged in the March 13, 2008 strip and are married in the August 25, 2008 strip. In the series' epilogue strip, it was revealed that their first son, James Allen, would be born before her grandfather Jim's death in 2010.
The strip started in 1979 and Elizabeth was already present. However, when Lynn Johnston decided to have her characters age in real time Elizabeth's birth was retconned to have taken place in 1980.
April Marian Patterson April (born April 1, 1991,Classic Content: April hence her name) is the teenage daughter of John and Elly Patterson. When Lynn Johnston wanted another child but found it impossible due to infertility, she chose to create one for the strip; resulting in April's birth. In 1995, Elly sees that the four-year-old April has figured out how to unlatch the back gate and get out of the yard, but does not take steps to secure the gate, figuring April is old enough to go play in the backyard on her own. This leads to a near-tragedy several weeks later when April, having left the yard, falls into a swollen stream while playing on a nearby riverbank and has to be rescued by the family's pet dog, Farley, who dies afterward.
April is one of the founders of local garage band, 4Evah (later renamed 4Evah & Eva). Although by and large a decent girl, April has a problematic streak with her parents and siblings, partly due to moodiness and withdrawal from hormonal changes during her adolescence (which has also been a problem of her older brother Michael), as well as annoyance at being made to pull her own weight around the house, arguing that she should enjoy life, which is rectified by a stern rebuke from Elizabeth about how every member of the family works and helps out around the house. Both problems are largely solved when Elly puts April to work in the family business of the bookstore/toy store after school and on weekends. After visiting her aunt's farm in 2006, she begins to consider becoming a veterinarian. The series' epilogue strip told that April would go to university and graduate with a veterinary medicine degree. Her love of horses would lead her to an opportunity to work with the Calgary Stampede in Calgary, Alberta. She is said to be living a "country life" and has an unnamed country boyfriend.
James Richards Elly's father, James Richards (March 21, 1921Classic Content: Jim–2010), known to the Patterson family and readers as "Grandpa Jim", is a World War II veteran of the Royal Canadian Air Force's 408 Squadron. When his wife Marian dies in 1998, Jim begins living with Elly and John for several years and becomes very close with his younger granddaughter April, first giving her a harmonica that he kept with him during his time in the military, then later teaching her how to play the guitar. He meets Iris Reid in 2000, moves to an apartment in the same seniors' housing building soon thereafter, and elopes to England in 2003. At an earlier time in his life, Jim had participated in a band called the Bentwood Rockers. April's success with her band inspires Jim to form another band, aptly named the New Bentwood Rockers.
Jim suffers a stroke in September 2006 and spends several weeks in the hospital. He is able to return to his apartment under the care of Iris and home health aides. While the readers were aware that there was less damage to Jim's brain than originally feared (as evidenced by his still sharp thought balloons), his ability to speak is severely impaired, and the other characters remain unsure about just how much damage has been done.
In the October 3, 2007 strip, Jim is found in an unresponsive state by a horrified Iris. He has suffered another stroke and is temporarily in a coma at the hospital. Once again he recovers enough to return home to Iris's care; however, his health is declining rapidly and Elizabeth, hearing April's description of Jim's failing health after April had visited her grandfather, accelerates her wedding plans to enable him to attend.
In the August 16, 2008 strip, Jim's health goes into further decline with a myocardial infarction, but Elizabeth and Anthony forego the traditional wedding reception and "Just Married" ride-off in a festooned car, instead immediately leaving the church after their vows to visit Jim (as well as putting their honeymoon plans on hold). The August 31 epilogue strip revealed that Jim would live long enough to see a final great-grandson who was the product of Anthony and Elizabeth's marriage, and named James in his honor, and die in 2010 at the age of 89.
Marian Richards Jim's first wife and Elly and Phil's mother, who dies 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.
Iris Richards, née Reid