Erie M. Tudhope (1921-2020)

Erie Tudhope slipped away peacefully in her sleep on July 8, 2020 after nearly 99 years of life and love on this earth. Those left behind – her sons Hilton (Barbara), Beverley (Lyndsay Morrison), Ian (Marianne McKenna); grandchildren (Cameron (Anouk Dey), Portia, Naomi, Rhiannon; great-granddaughter Névé; and Barbara’s four children and five grandchildren – will deeply miss Erie’s selfless embrace and the wisdom of her counsel.

Erie Maude Wilson was born in Toronto on August 21, 1921 to Alberta Maude Wilson (Parker), a theatre critic for the Mail & Empire newspaper, and Harry Powys Wilson, a businessman and veteran of the First World War. Her early days were spent in Toronto, Woodstock and Montreal, then alternating between Montreal and the Lac St. Jean area of northern Quebec, where her father’s work as an executive with Price Brothers lumber often took her and her younger brother, Billy, for years at a time. It was here, following the untimely death of her mother when Erie was five that she began to develop an empathy for all living things, especially animals and the emotionally and physically challenged, that would be a hallmark of her life.

Erie was educated at convent schools in rural Quebec, always in French and often the only Protestant girl in the class. Following graduation, she found work in Montreal and, in 1943, moved to Toronto to support the war effort in the DeHavilland Aircraft planning department. At war’s end, she took her 12-year-old stepbrother, Harry, under her wing. Harry, a paraplegic survivor of polio, had also lost his mother while in hospital and was in need of a strong, loving hand. Erie’s nurturing instinct prevailed.

Following the war years, Erie was an executive assistant at Cassels, Blaikie & Co., a well-regarded Toronto investment firm. It was on a blind date that she met the love of her life, the late Alan Campbell (Jim) Tudhope. They were married in June 1949 at St. John’s Church – York Mills. It was an unconventional yet deeply loving relationship that led to the birth of three sons: Hilton, Beverley and Ian. Erie’s stepbrother Harry eventually joined the clan and their menagerie of pets at the family’s home in Willowdale, and he and his young friends brought an aura of the merry prankster to an otherwise conventional suburban life.

What was less conventional was Erie’s determination to create a home environment that was open, loving and inclusive. The house took on the quality of a community centre. Neighbours, neighbour’s children, aunts without families, friends of family – all were welcome to share a drink and a meal. When the family moved to a new home in Forest Hill, the tradition continued with engaging dinner parties and conversation late into the evening. It was a defining quality of Erie that one should have a point of view on important things so that one has something to say that would be of interest to others.

Erie’s husband, Jim, died suddenly in 1982 when she was just 61. She threw herself into caring for the family vacation property south of Collingwood and volunteer work, primarily at The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. Giving back through volunteerism was important to Erie, and she spent many years in support of the social welfare goals of the IODE, serving in many positions of the Barrogill Castle chapter and finally several years as its president before retiring.

In 1989, Erie married George McLean and the two of them enjoyed many fine years together before George passed in 2008. Their home on Roxborough Street East gave Erie easy access to her four grandchildren and she became actively involved in their lives, organizing outings, entertaining them at her home, and joining in family vacations. They were one of the great joys of her long life.

Erie’s final years were spent at Belmont House in Toronto, where she maintained an apartment. She received exemplary care from the Belmont medical staff in her last days, for which the family is very grateful. We also owe a deep debt of gratitude to Lourdes Magdua, Erie’s personal caregiver during the past three years and who provided around-the-clock care at the end of her life.

Mahatma Gandhi said, “Man can never be a woman’s equal in the spirit of selfless service with which nature has endowed her.” To have known Erie was to experience such selflessness. She has earned her rest.

A small, family service will be held in the coming weeks, with interment at Mt. Pleasant Cemetery, Toronto. If desired, donations in memory of Erie may be made to The Hospital for Sick Children (Sick Kids) at https://secure.sickkidsfoundation.com/donate.