Audrey May (Terrill) MacLellan
May 7 1928 - February 13 2022


Peacefully in her sleep on February 13th. 2022 at Faith Manor, Brampton.

Audrey was born in 1928 in Iowa USA, a much loved only child born after her parents were married almost 20 years. Audrey grew up on a family farm during the Great Depression. Her childhood was a happy one, helping with the livestock and riding horses. She went to a one room country school house with only 8 students in the entire school. She graduated high school early at the young age of 16 and moved away from home for university. After receiving her Master’s degree of Library Science in Boston, she got her first librarian job at the Detroit Public Library.

In Detroit she met her future husband, George MacLellan, a Canadian who was there studying engineering. They married in 1953 and moved to Ontario. Several years later, they welcomed their daughters Anne and Cathie. The family moved to Etobicoke where Audrey worked part time in a school.

In 1967, the government created community colleges. Audrey applied for the new position of Chief Librarian at Humber College. She became the first employee ever hired by Humber despite being a married woman with young children. Over time, Humber College grew tremendously as did Audrey’s responsibilities. By the time she retired in 1988, Humber was the largest community college in Ontario.

Audrey had more time for her growing number of grandchildren after retiring. Audrey and George spent their winters in Florida where Audrey volunteered at a library. Summers were spent working in her garden in Etobicoke. She and her husband travelled throughout North America and Europe. Audrey also devoted time to researching her family history and became a Canadian citizen.

In 2008 Audrey underwent emergency surgery for a large cancerous tumor in her colon. After numerous rounds of chemotherapy and a recurrence a few years later, Audrey reached 5 years cancer free in 2018. Also in 2018 Audrey celebrated both her 90th birthday and 65th wedding anniversary. She developed Alzheimer’s in her late 80s. She moved to live at Faith Manor long term care home 4 years ago. Her husband George was reunited with her there last July.

Her husband George and grandson Graham predeceased Audrey. She is survived by her daughters Anne (Neil) and Cathie (Doug) and her grandchildren Elisabeth (Brandon), Brent (Cat) and Camille (Damien).

Our family thanks all the staff of Faith Manor and Holland Christian Homes for the wonderful compassionate care they provided for Audrey. We ask in lieu of flowers, donations to either the Alzheimer’s Society or Holland Christian Homes.

Please note that due to gathering restrictions for funerals, related to the ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic, the funeral service for Audrey will be private. We thank everyone for your support and kindness through these difficult days.