Marilee – what a beautiful name I thought. How could someone with a name so gentle and joyful not be a person you would want to know? Marilee’s beauty was so much more than just skin deep. Her warm smile and confidence was too much to resist, and so our life together began, with the nursery rhyme “Merrily we roll along” often running through my mind.

This week, our beautiful Marilee, gravely injured by COVID and having suffered for five interminably long years died peacefully, with her family holding her, and knowing there was nothing more they could have done.

Marilee was first and foremost a wife and mother, and will be profoundly missed by Toni, her husband of 25 years and her children Olivia and Sydney. She was predeceased by baby daughter Hannah. Marilee was a daughter, a sister, and an aunt. She leaves behind her mother Marnie (Brian) and her father Doug (Teresa) and mother-in-law Jelena, as well as her nieces, nephews, and a large extended family and many friends.

Marilee was born in North Bay, but her family soon moved to Peterborough. From there, it was on to Queen’s University in Kingston, where she graduated in Civil Engineering, and then did her Masters degree in Civil Hydrotechnical Engineering. Her university studies prepared her for a rewarding and challenging career in consulting and then at a conservation authority, and finally to her dream job as a senior engineer at the City of Pickering. She had the opportunity to build a great section of dedicated professionals, under the guidance of an amazing boss and great friends who supported her.

Marilee was a proud Professional Engineer, and took her duty of care to protect society seriously. In a room full of developers, lawyers, consultants and politicians, she always handled herself with integrity, but would stand her ground in the interests of safety.

Marilee was also an incredibly encouraging mom – she always found time to really listen to her kids, and worked tirelessly to make sure they were supported in every way. Because Marilee had grown up skiing, she insisted that our family would also have that wonderful activity we could all share. We have such beautiful memories skiing with our family friends. The best feeling was always when the four of us would share a chair lift, chatting about our latest run – doesn’t get any better.

When Marilee got sick with long COVID, her engineer brain, though diminished, struggled to make sense of her condition, when little medical help was available. She had an online support group of friends, a lifeline to information and people who were also searching for help. Marilee was beloved by so many people around the world who were touched by her intelligence and her compassion – we have received many messages of condolence from those who were helped by her, or who finally felt heard, by a beautiful soul with a nursery rhyme name.

Marilee wrote a message to us about a year ago, wanting to know if she had left a positive impact on everyone in her life. She wanted to know if people would have been proud to have known her, and happy to have spent time with her. I say YES – a resounding YES.