Marjorie Louise Goldring (née Walwyn)

Louise passed away peacefully in her sleep on Wednesday, April 4th. Born in Toronto to Marjorie Edith (née Bone) and John Pearse Walwyn, she was predeceased by her beloved husband Ralph in 1999, her niece Shelley in 2015 and her sister Gilda in 2016. She is survived by her sister Sue Winchell, brother John Walwyn, stepmother Ronnie Walwyn, and many cousins, nieces and nephews.

Louise leaves her daughter Cathie and husband Craig Bowden and son Stephen and wife Barbara, who will miss her dynamic personality and lifelong advice. She will be missed by her grandchildren, John Bowden (Heather Gottlieb), Carolyn (Mark Smith), Lisa (Jeremie Landry) and Eric Goldring. Louise was delighted to meet her great-granddaughter and continuing namesake, Olivia Louise who was born in July, 2017.

Louise was raised in Toronto, attended Whitney Public School then Branksome Hall where she met many lifelong friends and continued a long relationship with the school as the 1948 year rep. She attended the University of Western Ontario for Secretarial Sciences and soon after met Ralph through mutual friends on a blind date. After a whirlwind romance, they married on October 4th, 1952 and soon welcomed Cathie in 1954 and Stephen in 1955. They lived in Toronto until Ralph was transferred with CIMCO to Regina for 3 years and then Winnipeg for 8 years before being moved back to Toronto in 1970.

Louise was very involved as a volunteer wherever she lived. She worked with Marina Creations (a volunteer organization in Regina), the Women’s Committee of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra and the Women’s Committee of the Canadian Opera Company in Toronto. These involvements were central to her love of classical music and especially opera which she started listening to at age 10 with her father. She rarely missed a Saturday Afternoon at the Opera live from the Met in New York for over 75 years!

Louise also had a love of travel. She accompanied her Aunt Marion on tours overseas and spent a year in London working at Ontario House. She was presented to the King and Queen while there which was a tremendous honour and sparked an ongoing interest in the Royal Family. Louise, on her own or with Ralph, travelled to England, Scotland, Ireland, France, Austria, Germany, Italy, Greece, Egypt, Australia, and New Zealand as well as to California and Florida and within Canada. This enjoyment of travel was passed along to her children and grandchildren. In her final conversation with Cathie the day before she died, she remembered when she was in Greece many years ago when she was told her grandson John was there that day.

Gran, as she was known to her grandchildren, spent much time taking them to the theatre, concerts and ballet, always trying to encourage their love of and interest in the arts. She talked about her travels and showed them art and travel books and movies whenever they were a captive audience!

In her later years, Louise compiled a history of not only her family but also of Ralph’s family. A double sided page of photos and captions representing ten years of family history was presented to each family member at Christmas. She also enjoyed taping then recording movies and music from the TV. She had accumulated hundreds of CD’s and DVD’s by the time she moved out of her condo.

Louise fell and broke her hip in 2015 and that led to a slow decline in her physical and mental capabilities. She spent most of the last two years at Humber Heights in Etobicoke where she received increasing levels of care by respectful and caring staff. Stephen, who lived fairly close by, was a regular visitor, helping with electronic issues and providing her with necessities and cookies! Her final months were a struggle and Stephen and I are grateful her suffering has ended. A family celebration of Louise’s life will be held at a later date.

Rest In Peace Mom. You are loved and will be missed by many.