Obituary of Barbara Grace Earle

Barbara (Wade) Earle died suddenly at the young age of 100 on Tuesday, January 28, 2020 from congestive heart failure, spending less than 2 hours at St. Mary’s Hospital. She had recently attained her goal of reaching a century! She was exceedingly proud of receiving birthday congratulations from Queen Elizabeth and Prime Minister Trudeau. Barbara is loved and remembered by her sons Barry from Kitchener and Michael from Belgium along with daughters-in-law Karen and Hélène, and grandchildren Jason (Stephanie), Kelly (Sean) and Thomas (Yohko). She was predeceased by her husband William (Bill) Earle and her recent love Rod Wood. Barbara had a passion for all things to do with words. She grew up as the youngest child and only daughter on a fruit farm in Grimsby where her father Lawrence Wade gave her a love of the English language, from the oddities of its spelling to its arcane grammar. Barbara’s mother Isabella Nichol died when Barbara was a child and her brothers were much older. Barbara later worked in libraries and Classics Bookstores in London Ontario then later in Halifax. After returning from Nova Scotia to Waterloo, she continued to read voraciously, play (and always win) Scrabble and volunteer for English as a Second Language (ESL) classes. She loved to travel, including several trips to Europe. As her sight declined, she switched to listening to Waterloo Library’s books-on-tape and moved into an apartment at Sunnyside Supportive Housing. There she met a younger man (in his 80’s to her 90’s) and soul-mate, Rod. They spent countless hours together doing crosswords and keeping each other company until his death a year ago. In July 2019, Barbara moved to Maple Bush at Trinity Village Long Term Care. Barbara’s life-long motto was not to stress. She was proud of her Scottish heritage and loved to dance and listen to music. She always liked flirting with men and talking to young people especially her adoring grandchildren. Barbara had requested that her body be donated and it has been accepted by the University of Waterloo for a research study on the aging of joints, with cremation at a later date. Barbara would be pleased. A Scottish wake with friends and family will be held later during warmer weather. Donations would be gratefully accepted to Waterloo Public Library where one can donate online or at any branch. Our thanks for the loving care Barbara received from Trinity Village, Sunnyside Supportive Housing and St. Mary’s Hospital Emergency Department.