Tribute Wall
Arrangements
In keeping with her wishes, cremation has taken place and a gathering will be held at the Scattering Garden at the Old St. Thomas Churchyard, as well as in Ottawa, in May.
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Marshall Grant posted a condolence
Saturday, April 1, 2023
Marshall Grant Remembering His mom, Muriel Grant (nee Johnstone)
I am Muriel’s second oldest son and was born in Kingston when my parents were living there. My older brother Gordon was also born in Kingston. Subsequently, our family moved to Ottawa where Barry and Janice were born. I moved to Calgary, Alberta and I married my spouse Patricia Yelle in Edmonton, Alberta. My mom and dad attended the wedding and warmly welcomed Pat into the Grant family. Pat and I subsequently had three children being Tyler Grant, Cameron Grant and Rachel Grant. We all reside in Calgary. My mom is then also survived by my wife and our three children.
During my mom’s life, our family enjoyed many visits to my parent’s home in Ottawa and to their lovely cottage on Spectacle Lake. Tyler, Cam and Rachel loved jumping in the pool at the Ottawa house and going to the cottage where they loved to swim, go hunting for frogs, play in the sand, feed chipmunks and spend time with their grandparents, their aunt and uncle Barry and Rene and their cousins Shauna and Kaitlin.
As well as visits to Ottawa and Spectacle Lake, Pat and I enjoyed accompanying my mom on several of the cruises she loved to take. On some of those cruises, Tyler, Cam and Rachel were able to come along to their delight. After the Spectacle Lake cottage was sold, Pat and I would visit mom in Ottawa and then visit Rene and Barry at the cottage they had developed near their new home in Westport, Ontario. When my dad died, I attended the service in his memory and did what I could to support my mom in her grief. I miss him very much.
After Janice returned from England, mom moved to St. Thomas to live with her and I am glad she enjoyed the move and her time there before her death. I kept in touch with mom with regular phone calls and by sending cards and flowers from our family for special occasions such as her birthday and Christmas. Mom and dad had been very supportive of our children especially our son Cam who has unfortunately suffered from severe Crohn’s disease.
My family and I last spoke to mom on Christmas day, 2022, when we called her to wish her Merry Christmas. Everyone including Tyler, Cam and Rachel had an opportunity to talk to her not knowing this would be the last time we spoke to her. She was cheerful during all the conversations and that memory is a good final one to have. After that call, I tried to contact my mother on many occasions but there was no answer as she had been in and out of the hospital. She was not able to talk to me after she was hospitalized for end- of- life care but Janice kept me informed of her care.
My mother had a long and interesting life and enjoyed many good times with the many members of her family. She died peacefully while receiving good hospital care which is comforting to know.
Rest in Peace Mom/Grandma
Marshall, Pat, Tyler, Cameron and Rachel
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Barry Grant uploaded photo(s)
Friday, March 31, 2023
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Memories of cruising in Alaska with Mom, Dad and the Eastern and Western Grandchildren.
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Brydie Huffman posted a condolence
Monday, March 20, 2023
I was so fortunate to be able to bring a great-great niece, my daughter, to meet Muriel. I loved listening to her stories of meeting the "Canadian boys" when they were stationed overseas, and stories of growing up in the Lake District with her sisters (my grandmother Jonnie). Muriel was a lady of a different era, one of class and grace and I sure will miss that connection to another time. Thank you Jannie for your care of Muriel and sharing her light with us.
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Jeanne Rochon posted a condolence
Wednesday, March 15, 2023
What a great lady. I am grateful to have known her and to have shared some very special times with her and Janice. I will always remember her beautiful smile and her generous heart. What fun we had at our weekly card games with our little group of friends in Stittsville. I will miss her but l am comforted to know that she is now in the loving arms of her dear husband Bob.
Jeanne
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The family of the late G. Muriel Grant (nee Johnstone) posted a symbolic gesture
Tuesday, March 14, 2023
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IN REMEMBRANCE: Gladys Muriel Grant (May 8, 1924-March 9, 2023)
What a life you had in 98 ½ years! From a happy quiet childhood before the war in the English Lake District up to your last days in Canada I marvel at your life. I’ll fast forward to you as a 16 year old enlisted in the British army. In those six wartime years you met a Canadian soldier (my Dad) at a local dance in Hastings, got engaged and planned a February wedding in 1945. When asked why that month was chosen I was told his leave had been cancelled 2x already and enough was enough. Pictures I have show an English bride in a home made gown made of parachute silk and holding red roses (yes you could obtain them in February!) standing beside a shy but determined Robert Grant.
Now a war bride you did the typical thing of all overseas wives and sailed to Halifax followed by a quick relocation to Kingston Ontario. Oh the stories of living upstairs in a flat as housing was at a premium. I imagine bathing your first baby in a washtub filled with water heated on a stove was not a quick task to do. Life was indeed similar for other new wives and Canada didn’t have the necessities we take for granted today. It must have made both you and Dad more resourceful and frugal starting a new life-especially when Dad was also finishing his engineering degree from Queen’s University at the same time!
Your first home in Ottawa west in 1953 may not initially have had a back door (only a screen door ) but it was yours, no longer a rental flat. Hopefully an outer door was installed before the winter! The years sped by so quickly: a growing family of 4 kids with them attending public school, high school and then university. Dad also made progressive advancements in the federal government and you were there at his side attending political functions not only in Canada but also in Washington, D.C. What a change for a quiet, unassuming country girl but you mastered all these life events with aplomb.
Building and enjoying a lovely cottage near Algonquin park was next on your bucket list. Stories too numerous to recount but I remember marathon six handed euchre games with relatives, seasonal activities at the cottage, canoeing on “shining black diamond” lake water, loons, beaver and other wildlife to see. Even our civilized poodle went native!
A further lifestyle change emerged in Dad’s retirement years. His wartime record counted toward his pension plan resulting in him leaving the workforce with a full pension at a much younger age than most. In 1977 and 1978 you both went cruising in on the Royal Viking Star, Sea and Sky. This love for cruising (and escaping Canadian winters which you hated) stayed with you for a very long time. After Dad was gone there were cruises for seniors which you enjoyed but age was finally catching up on you. I (your daughter) proposed you come live with her in her new home in St Thomas, Ontario at the age of 92-definitely a new experience but one you adapted to so quickly. Many times you had mentioned you wished you had moved to southern Ontario sooner but no matter: the six years here were filled with shorter winters, new locales to visit (Port Stanley) and new plants that thrived in the Carolinian climate (weeping redbud and pink dogwood come to mind).
So grateful I was able to experience at least some of these things with you. Right up to the end you loved seeing people, especially your ‘adopted son’ and friends at the hospital and had a magnificent smile for them to remember you by.
Good bye for now mom. But don’t go too far away as I look forward to seeing you, Dad and our beloved poodle Sheri again when someone taps me on the shoulder and says it’s time to go. I only hope I will have ticked off everything on my ‘to do’ list as you have so adroitly done so.
Your daughter
Janice
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Gail, Herb and family posted a condolence
Monday, March 13, 2023
Our family will miss her, particularily our tea parties and sharing with us her memories of the family history . She was a gracious lady and we were lucky to have known her.
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The family of G. Muriel Grant (nee Johnstone) uploaded photo(s)
Monday, March 13, 2023
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The family of G. Muriel Grant (nee Johnstone) uploaded a photo
Friday, March 10, 2023
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The family of G. Muriel Grant (nee Johnstone) uploaded a photo
Friday, March 10, 2023
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