Maria (Mary) Izabella Medley (Polkiewicz) passed away peacefully, surrounded by her family, on April 28. She was 68 years old. A wonderful wife, devoted mother, loving sister, loyal friend, caring aunt and doting grandmother, she was, quite simply, the best.

Mary was born on October 20, 1951, in the small town of Hanover, Ontario, and raised on a 200-acre farm by parents who'd come to Canada from Poland after the end of the Second World War. She attended Brescia College at the University of Western Ontario, spending her summers working in Alberta at the Chateau Lake Louise. She spent four decades with the Durham District School Board, first at Dr. F.J. Donovan Collegiate Institute and then at Eastdale CVI, teaching business and history. It was at Donovan where she met a quirky history teacher named Steven, who became her husband of more than 40 years; they had three sons – a journalist, a photographer and a graphic designer – all of whom claim to be mom's favourite.

Mary loved butter tarts and gossip, white wine and Masterpiece Theatre, crime fiction and music. She travelled widely – with friends after university, with her family during March Breaks and summer vacations, and, after retiring in 2007, with Steve and, on occasion, her dear friends Roseanne and Gary; together, Steve and Mary visited more than 30 countries, from Finland to Chile. She was an avid reader, enthusiastic theatregoer, and talented gardener. In her later years she also studied Polish, committing herself to relearning her first language, and was an active member of PROBUS.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made towards ovarian cancer research at the Odette Cancer Centre at Sunnybrook Hospital, which provided first-class care from the time of her diagnosis five years ago, or the palliative care unit at Lakeridge Health Oshawa. She is predeceased by her parents, Anna and Teofil, and her sister, Barbara. She is survived by her husband, Steven, her sons Mark (Tasleen), Adam (Sarah), and Colin (Rebecca), her grandson James, her brothers Rick (Marlene), Ed, and Chris (Joanne), brother-in-law Len and his daughter Chrissy, sister-in-law Carol (Dave), cousin Tracy (Mark), more than a dozen nieces and nephews, relatives in Poland, and a wonderful group of friends whom she loved like family.