In memory of
Chris Puiu
February 15, 1951 - August 17, 2026
Christine (Chris) Ann Puiu
February 15, 1951 – August 17, 2026
Christine “Chris” Ann Puiu passed away peacefully at 10:22 a.m. on Monday, August 17, 2026, at the age of 75, after a three-year battle with cancer. Chris chose to end her life through MAiD. With her favourite music playing, a glass of sherry in her hand, surrounded by her family, she said her final goodbyes. It was a choice that was deeply important to her. Chris lived her life on her own terms, and she wanted to leave it the same way — with dignity, with intention, and with the people she loved around her. Her final words as her children left the room before the procedure were that we took all her belongings so she didn’t leave the room untidy.
That was Chris.
Born February 15, 1951, in Ilford, England, to William John “John” Lowe and Irene Joan Lowe, Chris eventually made Canada her home in 1976. She was proudly Canadian while never losing her British roots — something perhaps best captured by the licence plate on her Mini Countryman: “LIMIE EH.”
Chris began her working life in computers and data, which suited a woman with an uncanny ability to organize almost anything and make sense of chaos. It's also where she met her first husband, Mike. She eventually found her true calling, working as an Educational Assistant for children with learning disabilities. Helping kids find their way was more than a job to her; it was a passion and Chris was exceptionally good at it. That instinct to help, guide and occasionally tell you exactly what you needed to hear extended well beyond her work.
Chris had three biological children, but over the years she became Mum to so many. She welcomed, supported, fed, advised, encouraged, mothered — and, when necessary, provided a dose of Chris’s trademark wisdom. Even during her final time in hospital, nurses would find themselves sitting bedside, talking about their own lives and getting advice from Chris. She simply couldn’t help herself. If there was a problem, Chris was going to try to fix it.
As a mother, she loved fiercely and expected much. But beneath those high expectations was a very deliberate goal: Chris wanted her children to become strong, resilient people who could stand on their own two feet. She taught all three of her children to take risks, see the world, get back up when life knocked them down and, above all, live.
She practiced what she preached.
Chris loved to travel and had an insatiable curiosity about the world. She spent a year travelling Australia in a camper, with Exmouth and Ningaloo Reef in Western Australia holding a particularly special place in her heart. She loved Cozumel, Mexico — especially Coconuts Bar — and had already given her family instructions that part of her final adventure would take her back there.
She was also unmistakably English in so many ways. Chris loved a good cup of tea, beautiful gardens and British television. Her gardens were show-stoppers, full of flowers, lights and evidence of the pride she took in them. Her backyard “tent” — the gazebo, complete with its fountain — was one of her favourite places to sit and enjoy what she’d created.
But don’t mistake the tea and English garden for someone terribly proper.
Chris was always a bit of a rebel.
She loved rock music, dancing, funky clothes and jackets, sports cars and going to concerts well into her 70s. She adored Muse so much that she once flew her grandson Sky to Vancouver to see them with her. She loved theatre, reading, red wine, coffee in the morning, bacon, kippers, butter, Marmite and wine gums to name a few.
She hated peanut butter, drinking water, corn, bananas and country music.
Chris discovered stained glass later in life and, as with so many things she decided to do, became remarkably good at it. Her family is fortunate to have beautiful pieces she created with her own hands — tangible reminders of someone who was always creating, doing, learning or planning the next thing.
Throughout Chris’s life, she was rarely without a four-legged companion. From Bilbo to Rufus, Buster to Lucy, she loved her dogs.
Thanksgiving was Chris’s holiday to host. She loved that it wasn’t about gifts, but simply about gathering together, enjoying a family walk in the forest with the dogs, eating good food, making boatloads of cheese sauce, expressing what you were thankful for and then playing euchre.
Family was at the centre of it all.
Chris leaves behind her partner of 16 years, John Oliver; her children, Sam Puiu and her husband Reg LeDuc, Rick Puiu and his partner Stacey, and Mandy Spahn; her beloved dog, Lucy; and her much-loved grandsons, Sky LeDuc and Logan Puiu.
She will also be deeply missed by her sister, Karen O’Connell, in England, and Tony Puiu, a much-loved and important part of her family; as well as the many friends, honorary children and others she collected and cared for along the way.
Chris was strong without needing to announce it. She was fiercely loyal, endlessly capable and unapologetically herself. She moved to the beat of her own drum and, often without realizing it, inspired the people around her to be braver, stronger and a little more willing to actually live their lives.
She will be remembered for her strength, her smile, her wisdom, her gardens, her independence, her fierce love for her family and, most of all, her extraordinary zest for life.
Chris didn’t simply believe in making the most of life.
She lived it.
Family and friends are invited to raise a glass to Chris and celebrate a life very well lived at Thornton Arms Pub on Saturday, October 17, from 2:00–5:00 p.m. This will be an informal, drop-in celebration with food, stories, laughter and undoubtedly some tears — exactly the kind of gathering Chris wanted.
No flowers or donations are necessary. For anyone who would like to honour Chris in that way, Doctors Without Borders was a cause especially close to her heart. And perhaps the best way to remember her is simpler than that: See the world. Take the risk. Have the glass of red wine. Go to the concert. Plant the flowers. Love your people fiercely. And live your life on your own terms.
Chris certainly did.
For a woman who loved Dr. Seuss, perhaps it is fitting to leave her with the simplest of sendoffs. “Oh, the places you’ll go!”
February 15, 1951 – August 17, 2026
Christine “Chris” Ann Puiu passed away peacefully at 10:22 a.m. on Monday, August 17, 2026, at the age of 75, after a three-year battle with cancer. Chris chose to end her life through MAiD. With her favourite music playing, a glass of sherry in her hand, surrounded by her family, she said her final goodbyes. It was a choice that was deeply important to her. Chris lived her life on her own terms, and she wanted to leave it the same way — with dignity, with intention, and with the people she loved around her. Her final words as her children left the room before the procedure were that we took all her belongings so she didn’t leave the room untidy.
That was Chris.
Born February 15, 1951, in Ilford, England, to William John “John” Lowe and Irene Joan Lowe, Chris eventually made Canada her home in 1976. She was proudly Canadian while never losing her British roots — something perhaps best captured by the licence plate on her Mini Countryman: “LIMIE EH.”
Chris began her working life in computers and data, which suited a woman with an uncanny ability to organize almost anything and make sense of chaos. It's also where she met her first husband, Mike. She eventually found her true calling, working as an Educational Assistant for children with learning disabilities. Helping kids find their way was more than a job to her; it was a passion and Chris was exceptionally good at it. That instinct to help, guide and occasionally tell you exactly what you needed to hear extended well beyond her work.
Chris had three biological children, but over the years she became Mum to so many. She welcomed, supported, fed, advised, encouraged, mothered — and, when necessary, provided a dose of Chris’s trademark wisdom. Even during her final time in hospital, nurses would find themselves sitting bedside, talking about their own lives and getting advice from Chris. She simply couldn’t help herself. If there was a problem, Chris was going to try to fix it.
As a mother, she loved fiercely and expected much. But beneath those high expectations was a very deliberate goal: Chris wanted her children to become strong, resilient people who could stand on their own two feet. She taught all three of her children to take risks, see the world, get back up when life knocked them down and, above all, live.
She practiced what she preached.
Chris loved to travel and had an insatiable curiosity about the world. She spent a year travelling Australia in a camper, with Exmouth and Ningaloo Reef in Western Australia holding a particularly special place in her heart. She loved Cozumel, Mexico — especially Coconuts Bar — and had already given her family instructions that part of her final adventure would take her back there.
She was also unmistakably English in so many ways. Chris loved a good cup of tea, beautiful gardens and British television. Her gardens were show-stoppers, full of flowers, lights and evidence of the pride she took in them. Her backyard “tent” — the gazebo, complete with its fountain — was one of her favourite places to sit and enjoy what she’d created.
But don’t mistake the tea and English garden for someone terribly proper.
Chris was always a bit of a rebel.
She loved rock music, dancing, funky clothes and jackets, sports cars and going to concerts well into her 70s. She adored Muse so much that she once flew her grandson Sky to Vancouver to see them with her. She loved theatre, reading, red wine, coffee in the morning, bacon, kippers, butter, Marmite and wine gums to name a few.
She hated peanut butter, drinking water, corn, bananas and country music.
Chris discovered stained glass later in life and, as with so many things she decided to do, became remarkably good at it. Her family is fortunate to have beautiful pieces she created with her own hands — tangible reminders of someone who was always creating, doing, learning or planning the next thing.
Throughout Chris’s life, she was rarely without a four-legged companion. From Bilbo to Rufus, Buster to Lucy, she loved her dogs.
Thanksgiving was Chris’s holiday to host. She loved that it wasn’t about gifts, but simply about gathering together, enjoying a family walk in the forest with the dogs, eating good food, making boatloads of cheese sauce, expressing what you were thankful for and then playing euchre.
Family was at the centre of it all.
Chris leaves behind her partner of 16 years, John Oliver; her children, Sam Puiu and her husband Reg LeDuc, Rick Puiu and his partner Stacey, and Mandy Spahn; her beloved dog, Lucy; and her much-loved grandsons, Sky LeDuc and Logan Puiu.
She will also be deeply missed by her sister, Karen O’Connell, in England, and Tony Puiu, a much-loved and important part of her family; as well as the many friends, honorary children and others she collected and cared for along the way.
Chris was strong without needing to announce it. She was fiercely loyal, endlessly capable and unapologetically herself. She moved to the beat of her own drum and, often without realizing it, inspired the people around her to be braver, stronger and a little more willing to actually live their lives.
She will be remembered for her strength, her smile, her wisdom, her gardens, her independence, her fierce love for her family and, most of all, her extraordinary zest for life.
Chris didn’t simply believe in making the most of life.
She lived it.
Family and friends are invited to raise a glass to Chris and celebrate a life very well lived at Thornton Arms Pub on Saturday, October 17, from 2:00–5:00 p.m. This will be an informal, drop-in celebration with food, stories, laughter and undoubtedly some tears — exactly the kind of gathering Chris wanted.
No flowers or donations are necessary. For anyone who would like to honour Chris in that way, Doctors Without Borders was a cause especially close to her heart. And perhaps the best way to remember her is simpler than that: See the world. Take the risk. Have the glass of red wine. Go to the concert. Plant the flowers. Love your people fiercely. And live your life on your own terms.
Chris certainly did.
For a woman who loved Dr. Seuss, perhaps it is fitting to leave her with the simplest of sendoffs. “Oh, the places you’ll go!”
Funeral Details
Show location:
Celebration of Life
Thornton Arms Pub
575 Thornton Road N, Oshawa, ON, CANADA, L1J 8L5
Get Directions
Saturday, 17 Oct 2026 2:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Info: Please join us anytime between 2:00 - 5:00 for a casual drop-in celebration of Chris' life. There will be plenty of food, drinks and good company - come raise a glass, share a story, and help us celebrate a life very well lived. Everyone is welcome.