Obituary of Mildred Marguerite Harrington
It is with deep sadness we announce that our mother, Mildred, passed away peacefully on May 27th in her 89th year. Born in Saskatoon, SK, Mildred’s family moved to Nanaimo, BC when she was a young girl. She spent her childhood and teen years in Nanaimo. Early childhood memories included picking buckets of blackberries with her brother, Sidney (d. 2020) and sister, Kelly (d. 1982), being a May Day Queen, and learning to sew at her mother’s side.
In high school, Mom joined Beta Sigma Phi and had many lifelong friends with her sorority sisters in Vancouver, Mississauga, and Kitchener/Waterloo. Mom always said that Sorority gave her an instant social circle no matter where she and Dad were transferred to. Over the years, Sorority gave Mom many fun memories with the various themed parties they had. Who could forget the crazy outfits that showed up at the ‘Come as you are parties’!
As a young woman, Mom worked as a teller in a local Nanaimo bank. It was during her employment at this bank where she met Bernard (d. 2012), her future husband, and their 56+ year love story began. Shortly after they were engaged, Mom moved to Burnaby, where Dad was from, got married and they began their own family. Mom was always hardworking, knew how to stretch dollar, was determined to provide for her family, and had a heart of gold for those in need.
Mom was a gifted seamstress, cook, decorator and hostess and raised three children at our family home in Lorne Park. As a stay-at-home mom, there was always a pot of her much-loved coffee close by, ready to share with friends. Mom sewed almost all her children’s clothing and created beautiful fashions for herself for her many cruise holidays with Dad. In her later years, Mom combined her sewing skills with her generous spirit by sewing dozens, upon dozens of little dresses, shorts, skirts, and tops for African orphans with her Kitchener-Waterloo sewing group.
Never one to back down from a challenge, Mom hosted countless dinner parties and executive gatherings over the years with ease and grace. Our family holidays were filled with delicious foods and handmade sweets. Her recipes are our family treasures.
Mom was a wonderful mother, but she excelled at being a loving grandmother (Stephanie, Taylor, Michelle, Shannon, Ian, Mark, Connor, Nolan) and more recently a cherished great-grandmother (Addison, Maelle, Hunter, Hayden). Mom loved all her babies and each one held a special place in her heart.
Mom is survived by her half sister Trudy and predeceased by her half sister Joyce (2021) and will be missed by numerous nieces and nephews. The family would like to give a heartfelt thank you to the wonderful staff and caregivers at Hilltop Manor in Cambridge, ON where Mom lived the last 2 ½ years of her life. A private family interment will take place at Williamsburg Cemetery.
Mom will be dearly missed and forever loved by Brent (Susan), Alison (Bruce) and Lesley (Curt) and we are comforted to know that she is together forever with Dad.
We thought of you with love today, but that is nothing new.
We thought about you yesterday and days before that too.
We think of you in silence we often speak your name.
All we have are memories, and your picture in a frame.
Your memory is our keepsake, with which we will never part.
God has you in His keeping, we have you in our hearts.
Author unknown