Jane Ewing

 

Joan Margaret Dennison passed away peacefully with family at her side on Thursday, March 20, 2014, at Woodland Villa, Long Sault. She was in her 94th year.

Joan lived a long and very productive life met with many challenges. She was born on August 15, 1920, in Scarborough, England, to her parents Annie and Charles Hanwell.  

She grew up in Britain during World War 2, and was a teacher there.  Many times she would teach during the day and help with the children and adults in the air raid shelters at night. 

Her sister, Zena Hanwell met and married Canadian soldier, Bryce Swerdfeger and together they moved to Canada, to the Ingleside area. In 1947, Joan and her parents immigrated to Canada to be near Zena and her growing family. They settled in Aultsville, until the Seaway was developed, and they moved to Morrisburg.  

Joan met and married a dairy farmer, Cecil Dennison in 1949, and started learning the ways of farming and living in the country.

Joan and Cecil started a family, just mere miles from her sister and her family. They lived in the rural Colquhoun area and raised four children of their own, Cheryl, Linda, Neil and Dale.

In 1964, tragedy struck the family when Zena and Bryce Swerdfeger and their 15 year old son, Garth were killed in a car accident. Their remaining two children, Lynn (Dillabough) and Lester Swerdfeger were openly welcomed into the hearts and souls of the Dennison household and were raised with the other four children. 

Joan’s parents soon lived on the farm in a trailer with them, and she also looked after them in their ailing years. Her father Charles Hanwell passed away from cancer, and her mother Annie Hanwell passed away at the age of 91.  

Joan also looked after her father-in-law who was bedridden for an extended period of time while the children were small.

Joan learned the routine of farming and helped out with the haying season and driving tractors as needed.. 

Joan and Cecil were very dedicated to their church and community and very involved with several activities, including UCW, and church stewardship roles. No matter how busy they were always supportive of needs in the community and would always help neighbours in need. 

Joan taught 4-H for years, and taught her daughters to knit, sew, do crafts and be good homemakers.

She and Cecil passed on the gift of compassion, and how to carry on with grace in the face of adversity to all their children..  

Joan believed in keeping active and learning new things.She decided at the age of 80 to learn how to use computers and also how to paint. She became a very skilled painter doing oils and watercolours and designing her own pictures and Christmas cards which the family will forever treasure. Unfortunately failing eyesight brought this to an end. 

Joan was predeceased by her parents, Annie and Charles Hanwell; her sister, Zena and Bryce Swerdfeger and their son, Garth (1964), by her husband, Cecil (1994) and her son, Neil (2008).  

After Cecil’s death, Joan moved to Williamsburg Seniors Villa where she lived and was very happy for 18 years. She lived at the Hartford Retirement Home in Morrisburg for 1.5 years and spent the last two years at Woodland Villa Nursing Home in Long Sault where she peacefully passed away.  The care and compassion she received there was wonderful and she was happy.

Joan leaves behind her remaining children:  Lester Swerdfeger and family of Ottawa, Cheryl Neild and family of Napanee, Linda of Hamilton, Lynn Dillabough and family of Iroquois, and Dale of Cornwall.

Her funeral was held March 22, 2014, with plans for a spring interment in Colquhoun Cemetery.  Donations were given to Woodland Villa and charities of choice. 

May she rest in well deserved peace.

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A lifetime resident of the area, Charles “Chuck” Munroe passed away at the Ottawa Civic Hospital on Sunday, June 29, 2014.  He was 50.

Chuck was born in Winchester, on September 9, 1963, to his parents Charles Munroe and June Hunter.

Chuck worked at Tim Horton’s for several years and loved to drink coffee. He also enjoyed visiting with his family and friends and snowmobiling.

Chuck is survived by his mother June Picard (nee Hunter) of Toyes Hill and his sons Ryan and Christopher of Morrisburg.

 He will be lovingly remembered by his siblings Valerie Munroe (John Fawcett) of Winchester, Julie Padbury (Doug) of Winchester, Barry of Ottawa and Neil Picard (Angie) of Calgary.  He is also survived by nieces and nephews.  

Friends called at the Marsden and McLaughlin Funeral Home, Williamsburg, on Friday from 7-9 p.m.

A graveside interment service was held at Maple Ridge Cemetery, Chesterville, on Saturday, July 5th at 9 a.m. followed by a luncheon at Julie and Doug Padbury’s home in Winchester.  

Donations to the Heart and Stroke Foundation would be gratefully acknowledged by the family. Online condolences may be made at marsdenmclaughlin.com

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A resident of the area for the past 50 years Gerry Oosterhof passed away at Winchester District Memorial Hospital on Sunday, January 22, 2012, following a brief illness.  He was 95.

Gerry was born in Ouderhorne, The Netherlands on February 8, 1916, to his parents Bonne and Sjoerdje (nee Degroot).  He met his wife Hendrikje while working as a farm hand; they married in May of 1940  and subsequently had three children during the Second World War, one child died as an infant.  They had one more child in the Netherlands before joining the wave of immigration to Canada in 1952.

Once in Canada Gerry and his family lived in Morrisburg where he first worked as a farm hand for his sponsor family and then worked in construction during the creation of the Seaway.  After his time on the Seaway project was completed he moved on to work as a builder on the Dupont site at Maitland.  When the Seaway went through the home in which they lived was in the path of the water and the family moved to a farm north of Iroquois where their youngest daughter was born.

His final 12 years of employment were spent at Upper Canada Village where he worked with the animals.  He drove a team of oxen during the summer months and helped take care of the animals in the barn during the winter months.  He enjoyed talking to people and particularly liked to surprise visitors from the Netherlands by answering their questions in Dutch. Following his retirement Gerry continued to farm north of Iroquois until 1986 when he and Hendrikje moved back to Morrisburg.  

Never one to sit still he transformed his back half of his property into a large garden that fed not only themselves but all of his family, friends and neighbours as well.  It was only this past year that he decided that the garden was too large and he made it smaller.  

Gerry was a combination of many things, a hard worker, helpful to his friends, and loving to his family.  He had a wonderful dry sense of humour, a ready smile and wee bit of temper.  He loved music and dancing and he especially enjoyed polkas and waltzing.  

One of the blessings that Gerry had was the ability to make friends and he made many during his lifetime.  

Gerry is survived by his children Jean (Bob) Christie of Ottawa, Bonna (Bertha) of R.R.# 2 Brinston, Sue Roos (Ken Whitfield) of Ottawa and Helen (Doug) Tupper of Stampville.  He was the Proud Papa of Julie and Mark Christie, Stephen (May) Roos, Michael (Lindsay) Roos, Peter (Louise) Oosterhof, Lynn Oosterhof (Bucky Markell), Christopher, Nicholas and Lesley-Ann Tupper.  Papa’s legacy continues in his great-grandchildren Emily Hitsman, Cameron, Tristan and Trinity Oosterhof.  He was the dear brother of Geertje of Holland.  He was predeceased by his wife Hendrikje, an infant son and sisters Sjoukje and Anneke.   He is also survived by nieces and nephews.  

Friends called at the Marsden McLaughlin Funeral Home, Williamsburg, on Tuesday from 7-9 p.m. and Wednesday, January 25th from 10 a.m. until time of the service at 11 a.m. which was conducted by Rev. Arlyce Schiebout.  

Interment followed at New Union Cemetery, Williamsburg.  Pallbearers were his grandchildren Peter Oosterhof, Lynn Oosterhof, Julie Christie, Stephen Roos, Lesley-Ann Tupper and son-in-law Doug Tupper.

Donations to the C.N.I.B. or the Canadian Cancer Society would be appreciated by the family.  Online condolences may be made at marsdenmclaughlin.com.

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