Obituary for Celia Royce
Celia Gwendolyn Phyllis Ball was born on July 18, 1919 in Regina, Saskatchewan to George and Margaret Ball. She would tell us that she was born on the day that Regina celebrated the Armistice of WWI, which of course actually happened November 11, 1918. Celebrations didn’t happen in November in Regina back then!
Throughout our lives, Mum regaled us with stories about her first ten years on the small farm where they lived, and her years growing up before WWII.
Celia was recruited in Regina to travel to New York City, then to Washington D.C. to work as a clerical secretary at the Australian Embassy for the war effort. It was there that she met and married Donald Royce who had traveled to Washington to work for the war effort as well. They were married on December 8, 1945 and settled in Toronto, living for 65 years at 27 Meadowbank Road in what became Etobicoke.
Luckily for her children, Celia was a stay at home mom, and she was able to spend quality time raising them with love, and instilling in them her deep appreciation of nature. She was especially passionate about her beautiful garden and fish pond, which she lovingly tended throughout all the years and all the seasons on Meadowbank.
She spent her spare time volunteering with the Ladies Auxiliary of St James United Church, and The Canadian Cancer Society (Etobicoke) where she took a turn as President. She also spent many years volunteering at Lakeshore Psychiatric Hospital in Toronto and was integral to the fund raising and opening of a patients’ social centre known as Moore House.
Celia had many friends and family, several of whom unofficially adopted her as “Mom”, and who will remember gathering at “the pool” on summer days. It was a very important part of the fabric of her life, where she spent countless hours enjoying her children, their friends, and her grandchildren Saburah, and Lana. She lost Don, her husband of almost 50 years in 1995. Celia peacefully passed away at her home in Raglan Village, Collingwood, Ontario on February 20th, 2023 – Family Day – which to those who knew her well seems true to form. She is survived by her three children, Ian (Janet), Brenda, Shelagh (Jeffrey), and her granddaughter Lana. She’ll be missed every day by those who loved her.
Throughout our lives, Mum regaled us with stories about her first ten years on the small farm where they lived, and her years growing up before WWII.
Celia was recruited in Regina to travel to New York City, then to Washington D.C. to work as a clerical secretary at the Australian Embassy for the war effort. It was there that she met and married Donald Royce who had traveled to Washington to work for the war effort as well. They were married on December 8, 1945 and settled in Toronto, living for 65 years at 27 Meadowbank Road in what became Etobicoke.
Luckily for her children, Celia was a stay at home mom, and she was able to spend quality time raising them with love, and instilling in them her deep appreciation of nature. She was especially passionate about her beautiful garden and fish pond, which she lovingly tended throughout all the years and all the seasons on Meadowbank.
She spent her spare time volunteering with the Ladies Auxiliary of St James United Church, and The Canadian Cancer Society (Etobicoke) where she took a turn as President. She also spent many years volunteering at Lakeshore Psychiatric Hospital in Toronto and was integral to the fund raising and opening of a patients’ social centre known as Moore House.
Celia had many friends and family, several of whom unofficially adopted her as “Mom”, and who will remember gathering at “the pool” on summer days. It was a very important part of the fabric of her life, where she spent countless hours enjoying her children, their friends, and her grandchildren Saburah, and Lana. She lost Don, her husband of almost 50 years in 1995. Celia peacefully passed away at her home in Raglan Village, Collingwood, Ontario on February 20th, 2023 – Family Day – which to those who knew her well seems true to form. She is survived by her three children, Ian (Janet), Brenda, Shelagh (Jeffrey), and her granddaughter Lana. She’ll be missed every day by those who loved her.