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Category: Obituaries

  • Photo Post #37 | Stephen Harold Baker

    Photo Post #37 | Stephen Harold Baker

    Here is a photo of Stephen Harold Baker. He was my mother’s first cousin, the son of Edna Power and Mason Baker. I hadn’t seen a picture of him until my second cousin Joyce sent me this one. Sadly, Stephen died in a motorcycle accident on September 7, 1976. He was only 20 years old.

    It had to have been an incredibly trying time for my great aunt Edna (we called her Aunt Poode). Her father (my great grandfather) Earl Power had died the day earlier on September 6th. Within the span of just four days, she lost and buried both her father and her youngest son.

    Aunt Poode was certainly the most religious of her siblings as far as I can tell and recall. No doubt it was her faith that helped her through this difficult time.

    Stephen H Baker obituary, Halifax Chronicle Herald, Halifax, Nova Scotia, 9 September 1976, page 29.
    The Halifax Chronicle Herald, 8 September 1976, page 3.

  • Obituary – Georgina Grace (Arnold) Power

    Mrs. Albert Power obituary, Halifax Chronicle Herald, Halifax, Nova Scotia, 25 July 1933, page 2.

    MRS. ALBERT POWER
    East Jeddore, July 24 – There passed away at her home here on Sunday at noon Georgina Grace, wife of Albert Power, in her 67th year. The deceased, who was a well-known and highly respected resident, is survived besides her husband by four daughters, Mrs. Blanche Oxner, Lunenburg; Mrs. Pearl Harpell, West Jeddore; Mrs. Edna Myers and Mrs. Jennie Baker, East Jeddore; four sons, William A, Harvey, Earle, and Layton; thirty-four grand-children, one great-grandchild, one sister who resides on Prince Edward Island, and a brother, Lorne Arnold, of East Jeddore. The funeral will be held Tueday afternoon at 2 o’clock from the Baptist Church at East Jeddore. Rev. A. Campbell, pastor of the Baptist Church, assisted by Rev. George Gardiner of Halifax, will conduct the service.

  • Obituary – Doris Elaine (Mills) Finch

    Surrounded by the love of her family, Doris passed away peacefully on Thursday, July 20, 2023 in her 74th year. Loving wife to Carl for nearly 52 years. Devoted mother to Carl (Donna), Robert (Monika), and Amanda. Beloved Nanny to Alessa. Doris will be dearly missed by her sister Beulah (Murray Philip), several nieces and nephews, cousins, and friends. She is predeceased by her parents Alan and Rose (Power) Mills, and her siblings Rose Andrews (the late Edward), Bertha Marshall, and Gladys Mills.

    Doris was born and raised in Oyster Pond Jeddore, Nova Scotia. She moved to Ontario in the early 1970s and lived most of her adult life in Hamilton, residing on the Beach Strip. Doris was able to visit places she long dreamed of, including the Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam, and the Grand Ole Opry. She even met Queen Elizabeth II. Doris enjoyed reading, puzzles, baking, watching TV, and most of all, pampering her cats.

    Special thanks to the medical care staff at Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital who showed determination and compassion.

    Visitation at SMITH’S FUNERAL HOME, 485 Brant Street, (one block north of City Hall), BURLINGTON (905-632-3333), on Friday, July 28, 2023 from 12-1 p.m. Funeral Service will be held in the Chapel at 1 p.m. with interment to follow at White Chapel Cemetery. For those wishing to participate virtually, a livestream link will be available on the funeral home’s website. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions to The Kidney Foundation, Diabetes Canada, or Canadian Sepsis Foundation would be sincerely appreciated by the family.

    The above obituary – along with the Memory Wall and Photos – can be found on the Smith’s Funeral Home website: https://www.smithsfh.com/memorials/doris-finch/5237565/

    It was also published in the Hamilton Spectator: https://obituaries.thespec.com/obituary/doris-elaine-finch-nee-mills-1088587061

  • Doris Elaine (Mills) Finch, 1949-2023

    Doris Elaine (Mills) Finch, 1949-2023

    My dear Mom passed away on July 20th. She was one of my biggest fans (and sources!) when it came to genealogy. She really loved reading and hearing what I researched. Since August also happens to be her birth month I will spend some time posting about her all month long. Miss you, Mom.

    Doris Elaine Finch, our Mom! She was a devoted wife; a loving mother and grandmother – or nanny; a sister and sister-in-law; an aunt, cousin, neighbour, and friend. But, before any of these she was a daughter. She was the youngest daughter born to Rose Power and Alan Mills, our Nan and Grandad.

    Mom was born and raised in the small community of Oyster Pond Jeddore, Nova Scotia. The family lived in the former home of Mom’s great-grandfather Colin Mitchell on the East Jeddore Road. Childhood days were spent playing on the shore of the Atlantic Ocean, picking berries in the woods, or relaxing on the big rock behind the house – a rock we too enjoyed when visiting Grandad. We
    know many people here today have fond memories of that rock.

    Mom’s childhood was not without challenges. She became sick with tuberculosis and spent months at the TB Hospital in Halifax away from her mom and dad. The loneliness was somewhat relieved when she received visits from her Aunt Florence and Aunt Belle. While in the hospital, she befriended an African Canadian girl despite racial tensions of the time. Mom didn’t care, though. She just wanted a friend.

    One by one, her sisters left the family home – leaving Mom as the last one at home. But, Mom got to enjoy something the others didn’t: the modern conveniences of indoor plumbing, as Grandad finally installed a functioning bathroom, meaning no more trips to the outhouse.

    On a visit to Ontario to visit her sister, Mom met her future husband, our father, Carl. They were married in the Oyster Pond church – a day that has its own fair share of stories – and set out on their honeymoon driving the Cabot Trail. Mom used to tell us how her sisters, instead of packing sandwiches for the journey, packed sweets, cookies, and cakes. They didn’t go hungry, but they suffered from heartburn.

    With poor job prospects in Nova Scotia, it was clear that our parents would need to settle in Ontario. They first lived in an apartment in Paris before settling in Hamilton. Ultimately, they bought a house on the Beach Strip, a place we all called home.

    While Dad worked at the Dofasco steel mill, Mom took to jobs such as selling Avon and cleaning houses. First and foremost, though, she was the homemaker. She made sure we had a clean house and meals to eat.

    Three words that describe Mom are loyal, kind, and caring. She displayed these attributes throughout her life. This was especially evident in the final years of her mother, our Nan. Mom spent a lot of time helping to take care of Nan, allowing her to live somewhat independently. Long before then, Mom would go the extra mile to ensure we kids were on the right path whether it was helping with homework or working tirelessly during speech therapy sessions. Mom was always there for us.

    You can’t talk about Mom without thinking of Christmas. Christmas was her favourite holiday. The house would literally be transformed. Her regular knickknacks and ornaments were wrapped up and put away, replaced by Christmas decorations. It felt like being in a movie. She’d spend the holiday season in her chair admiring the lights on the Christmas tree. Christmas Eve was a time for family and friends to come over and a chance for everyone to enjoy her Christmas baking.

    For a girl from Oyster Pond, Mom sure was able to go places and enjoy big world experiences. She was able to travel to Las Vegas, visit the Grand Canyon, and see the Hoover Dam. And, she fulfilled a life long dream of attending the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville not just once but two years in a row. In 2010, Mom was a guest at a State Dinner for Queen Elizabeth II, where she met the former monarch and Prince Philip. Never did she imagine she would one day meet the Queen, she said. But, she did.

    The one thing we will all remember about Mom is her loving smile. As you saw in many photographs today, Mom’s smile was everywhere. She was genuinely a happy person who tried to see good in everyone and every circumstance. Even the ICU doctor at Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital remarked how Mom smiled at him as he told her she would need to go on life support. The nurses loved Mom’s smile. We think it helped make their day just a bit better.

    In closing, let’s celebrate a life well lived. Let’s celebrate a remarkable woman who until the very end gave it her all. Let’s celebrate her legacy that lives on forever. And, when things aren’t seeming to be going according to plan, take a deep breath and just remember to smile.

    This is the eulogy I wrote for Mom on behalf of my brother and sister. It was one of the hardest pieces I have ever written, but I think she would’ve been proud of it.

  • Phoebe (Weaver) Vansickle

    This morning, i got a notification from FamilySearch, a great free genealogy site that has a collaborative tree as well as tons of birth, marriage, and death records. It turns out today is Phoebe Weaver’s (my third great grandmother) birthday. So, I spent some time learning a little about her.

    Phoebe Weaver was born 18 February 1840 in Ancaster Township in present-day Ontario. She was the daughter of John Weaver and Mary Misner. I can’t find a birth registration; I’m not sure one exists. Her birth information is gathered from her death registration as well as census data.

    Some researchers have her mother Mary as being married to a Richard Dell after John Weaver. This is also reflected on FamilySearch. I’ll have to do some more digging because some of the dates don’t line up.

    A Pheby Dell, aged 11, does appear in the 1851 census living in the household of Richard and Mary Dell.

    In March 1860, she married Morris Vansickle. They lived on a farm in Townsend Township in nearby Norfolk County and had six children: Edwin (my 2nd great grandfather), Hannah, Harvey, Austin, Arthur, and Abram.

    Phoebe Vansickle died on 30 August 1920 at her son Arthur’s house in Brantford. The cause of death is listed as “senile decay” on her death registration. She is buried at Bloomsburg Baptist Church Cemetery in Norfolk County.

    Source: Mrs Morris Vansickle obituary, The Brantford Expositor, Brantford, Ontario, 4 May 1920, page 13.
    Source: “Canada, Ontario Deaths, 1869-1937 and Overseas Deaths, 1939-1947,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/1307826: accessed 18 February 2023), death registration 9702, Phoebe Vansickle, died at Brant County, 30 Apr 1920; citing Archives of Ontario, Toronto.

  • Obituary for Ephraim Baker

    Ephraim Baker was my third great grandfather. He was born about 1840 on Tancook Island in Mahone Bay in Nova Scotia. Later, his father Frederick Baker moved the family to East Jeddore in Halifax County.

    Ephraim commanded a fishing boat named the Mary Jane. On December 18th, 1876 a snow storm caused the boat to run on a sandbar near Halifax. He and another crewman drowned.

    The following obituary appeared in the Christian Messenger on January 10th, 1877:

    Christian Messenger – Wednesday, 10 January 1877 – Page 14 –

    Jeddore, Dec. 26th, 1876.

    Mr. Editor, –

    A cloud of gloom is hanging over this harbour, caused by the wreck of a large fishing-boat owned by Mr. Ephraim Baker. She left here on Monday, the 18th inst., for Halifax, loaded with fish. The wind being ahead and moderate, the crew thought it best to run back again rather than stay out over night. But when they came within two or three miles of the harbour, the wind breezed up from the S.E. Though late in the afternoon, they now concluded to run for Halifax. As night came on the wind increased, and brought snow with it. In the snow and darkness they ran on Thrum Cap shoal. Mr. E. Baker and F. Gould left the wreck in a small boat, and were lost in the breakers. The remainder of the crew – five in number, remained on the wreck until she broke up, when the deck, with them on it drifted ashore. The bodies of the two men drowned, were recovered next day, and taken on board the schr. Princess, owned by Mr. Enos C. Baker, brother of the deceased, and brought home on Wednesday. Mr. Ephraim Baker, was in the prime of life, aged 35 years, and an honoured member of the Baptist Church in that place. He leaves a wife and four children to mourn the loss of a kind father and loving husband. He will be greatly missed in the community, as well as in the family and the church. We trust his bereaved partner – also a loved member of the church, will be enabled by faith to pierce the gloom, and behold the bright lining beyond, for oft,

    “God moves in mysterious way,
    His wonders to perform;
    He plants his footsteps in the sea,
    And rides upon the storm.
    Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
    But trust him for his grace;
    Behind a frowning providence
    He hides a smiling face.”

    With what power and eloquence such events proclaim the words: “Be ye also ready; for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.” I hope the event – sad as it is, may prove beneficial to many of the large number present at his funeral on the 24th inst. But impressions made by such events too often prove “like the morning cloud and the early dew.”

    Yours &c.

    Jas. Meadows.

  • Gladys Pearl Mills, 1945-2021

    Gladys Pearl Mills, 1945-2021

    This past weekend, my aunt Gladys died at the age of 76. She hated being called “Aunt” so we just called her Gladys. For fun, we’d sometimes write “Aunt Gladys” on Christmas cards. Ha. Growing up, my family along with my Nan would visit her on Saturday nights at her apartment in Hamilton. We’d enjoy a big “lunch” consisting of cold cuts, cheese, cookies, cake, you name it and listen to music and catch up on family news (aka gossip). That was a Saturday night tradition.

    Gladys was the fourth daughter of Alan and Rose (Power) Mills. She grew up in Oyster Pond, Nova Scotia. She was the baby of the family (hence her nickname “Babe”) until my mother came along four years later.

    Condolences to Angie, Rosie, Donna, and Jerry and their families.

    Here is a link to Gladys’ obituary published in the Hamilton Spectator: 
    https://www.arbormemorial.ca/lgwallace/obituaries/gladys-pearl-babe-mills/75247

    Gladys and her father Alan Mills
    Gladys (front centre) and her sisters