Obituary for Sylvia Baigrie
BAIGRIE, Sylvia Patricia (nee McNaughton)
September 25, 1934 – September 14, 2022
We are saddened to announce that Sylvia, age 87, has passed away. Sylvia died peacefully surrounded by caring and compassion at Campbell House hospice in Collingwood, Ontario.
Sylvia was the beloved wife of the late George Baigrie, daughter of R. Roy and Agnes McNaughton, loving mother of Lynn (Edward) Peters of Pittsburgh, Jane (Douglas) Kennedy of Collingwood, and son Craig Baigrie of Bracebridge.
She will be dearly missed by her brother Garth (Joan) McNaughton and his extended family, Godson Peter and the Snelling families, and cherished friends Marie and Gwen.
Sylvia was born and raised in the east end of Toronto. She attended ‘Danforth Tech’ and married the love of her life right out of high school. George worked for the Boiler Inspection and Insurance Company in Toronto so they made their home in Scarborough, where Sylvia lived until George passed away in 1999.
The family was fortunate to have Sylvia’s family cottage at Pleasant Point on Sturgeon Lake, where Sylvia and George ‘honeymooned’ in 1953. Thereafter Sylvia, and the children as they arrived, spent every summer at the cottage with many dear and lifelong friends there. Get-togethers, games, spirited debates and much laughter around the dining room table were a cottage staple.
When the children were a bit older, Sylvia decided to enter the workforce and chose the Infants Wear department at Simpsons in Fairview Mall. It was the perfect place for a woman who loved people and babies. Sylvia loved her job and excelled at it.
She was a staunch supporter of the Canadian Cancer Society serving over 25 years as a street captain and fundraiser for the Daffodil Campaigns each spring.
At the same time she kept up her advocacy for and tireless support of Craig navigating the health care and social services systems on his behalf.
In later years with the children grown, Sylvia and George enjoyed some traveling, most notably a once in a lifetime trip to Australia and New Zealand, and regular drives to Pittsburgh to visit Lynn. After George passed, Sylvia continued driving herself for many years, emphatically stating that “Lynn couldn’t possibly plant her spring flowers without my help”. Her Pittsburgh ‘family of friends’ quickly learned what everyone else knew, Sylvia had an amazing sense of humor with a razor sharp wit and a beautiful laugh.
By then Sylvia was living in Swan Lake Village in Markham. She was there for twenty years and loved the community, her friends and her independence. When tragedy struck in the form of the pandemic, she moved to Balmoral Retirement Residence in Collingwood to be near Jane and Doug, newly returned from South Carolina.
Sylvia quickly became known at Balmoral as the sweetest little lady with a spunky sense of humor. She lived at Balmoral until moving to hospice. Keeping her sense of humor to the end, she often commented to Jane with a smile “this is why we sent you to nursing school”.
Sylvia wished to be remembered as a hard-working, loving mother and wife, and a loyal and unselfish friend.
We would like to extend our thanks to the many people who cared for Sylvia, especially through this last difficult year, including Case Manager Terry, Rebecca and the Balmoral staff and the angels at Campbell House. We are most grateful.
At her request, cremation has taken place. A private family gathering will take place at a later date.
In recognition of this wonderful woman and her life, donations if desired can be made to Hospice Georgian Triangle (Campbell House) Hospice Donations the ‘CNIB Lake Joseph Centre’ where Craig spends part of his summers, CNIB Lake Joe Donations or your local food bank.
September 25, 1934 – September 14, 2022
We are saddened to announce that Sylvia, age 87, has passed away. Sylvia died peacefully surrounded by caring and compassion at Campbell House hospice in Collingwood, Ontario.
Sylvia was the beloved wife of the late George Baigrie, daughter of R. Roy and Agnes McNaughton, loving mother of Lynn (Edward) Peters of Pittsburgh, Jane (Douglas) Kennedy of Collingwood, and son Craig Baigrie of Bracebridge.
She will be dearly missed by her brother Garth (Joan) McNaughton and his extended family, Godson Peter and the Snelling families, and cherished friends Marie and Gwen.
Sylvia was born and raised in the east end of Toronto. She attended ‘Danforth Tech’ and married the love of her life right out of high school. George worked for the Boiler Inspection and Insurance Company in Toronto so they made their home in Scarborough, where Sylvia lived until George passed away in 1999.
The family was fortunate to have Sylvia’s family cottage at Pleasant Point on Sturgeon Lake, where Sylvia and George ‘honeymooned’ in 1953. Thereafter Sylvia, and the children as they arrived, spent every summer at the cottage with many dear and lifelong friends there. Get-togethers, games, spirited debates and much laughter around the dining room table were a cottage staple.
When the children were a bit older, Sylvia decided to enter the workforce and chose the Infants Wear department at Simpsons in Fairview Mall. It was the perfect place for a woman who loved people and babies. Sylvia loved her job and excelled at it.
She was a staunch supporter of the Canadian Cancer Society serving over 25 years as a street captain and fundraiser for the Daffodil Campaigns each spring.
At the same time she kept up her advocacy for and tireless support of Craig navigating the health care and social services systems on his behalf.
In later years with the children grown, Sylvia and George enjoyed some traveling, most notably a once in a lifetime trip to Australia and New Zealand, and regular drives to Pittsburgh to visit Lynn. After George passed, Sylvia continued driving herself for many years, emphatically stating that “Lynn couldn’t possibly plant her spring flowers without my help”. Her Pittsburgh ‘family of friends’ quickly learned what everyone else knew, Sylvia had an amazing sense of humor with a razor sharp wit and a beautiful laugh.
By then Sylvia was living in Swan Lake Village in Markham. She was there for twenty years and loved the community, her friends and her independence. When tragedy struck in the form of the pandemic, she moved to Balmoral Retirement Residence in Collingwood to be near Jane and Doug, newly returned from South Carolina.
Sylvia quickly became known at Balmoral as the sweetest little lady with a spunky sense of humor. She lived at Balmoral until moving to hospice. Keeping her sense of humor to the end, she often commented to Jane with a smile “this is why we sent you to nursing school”.
Sylvia wished to be remembered as a hard-working, loving mother and wife, and a loyal and unselfish friend.
We would like to extend our thanks to the many people who cared for Sylvia, especially through this last difficult year, including Case Manager Terry, Rebecca and the Balmoral staff and the angels at Campbell House. We are most grateful.
At her request, cremation has taken place. A private family gathering will take place at a later date.
In recognition of this wonderful woman and her life, donations if desired can be made to Hospice Georgian Triangle (Campbell House) Hospice Donations the ‘CNIB Lake Joseph Centre’ where Craig spends part of his summers, CNIB Lake Joe Donations or your local food bank.