It is with great sadness that we announce after a six-month illness that Emily passed away on July 19, 2025 in her 98th year.

Emily came to Canada from Poland in 1929 at the tender age of two and settled just outside of Winnipeg in Melrose, Manitoba. It was fun, fresh country living for Emily, who as a young girl loved to climb trees, learned to speak English, read books, play baseball, and became a great tennis player, all while excelling at school.

In the 1950s, the family moved to Hamilton and Emily worked at Eaton’s, had season tickets to the CFL Tiger Cats and learned to be an amazing seamstress, even making her own wedding gown in 1961 where Emily and her husband Stephen settled in Etobicoke and Emily began working at Ontario Hydro and she loved it there. She was a woman ahead of her time.

It was a busy life with two young girls as they moved from Etobicoke to Vancouver off to Beaconsfield Quebec, followed by Ottawa and finally back to Etobicoke in 1986. Emily loved coming back to Etobicoke and was thrilled to be back closer to Toronto where she enjoyed attending the theatre, music of a wide variety, CFL football games, travelling and annual trips on her birthday to one of her favourite places, Letchworth State Park in upstate New York that Emily always enjoyed.

Emily, a kind, caring, generous and fiercely independent woman, lived on her own until this year when her illness came about. Her passions were politics and current affairs, gardening, the CFL, and a lifelong love of reading.

Emily is predeceased by her siblings Cassie, Joe, and Carrie and survived by her younger sister Irene Jarrett. Emily is survived by her two daughters Marianne Avarello (Dino) and Carolyn Starshuk (Mike Comeau). Grammy, as she was called, had several grandchildren, Nicholas and Michael Avarello of Ottawa, Carter and Carly MacLean of Toronto and she was a Bonus Grammy to Mike’s children, Ryan and Evan Comeau.

Grammy will be dearly missed by her grandkids as she was so kind, caring, compassionate, and giving to each of them.

Friends may call at Turner & Porter “Butler Chapel”, 4933 Dundas Street West, Toronto on Monday, July 28, 2025 from 5-8 p.m.

Funeral Mass to be held at St. Gregory’s Parish, 122 Rathburn Road, Etobicoke on Tuesday, July 29, 2025 at 10 a.m.

In lieu of flowers, a donation can be made to the Humber River Hospital, where Emily was so well taken care of by many exceptional nurses who were so kind and caring to her. Donate to Humber River Health Foundation and select Give In Memory. If you prefer not to donate electronically, please mail your donation with a detailed description of whom the donation is in memory of to the following address:
Humber River Health Foundation
ATTN: Saneh Singh
1235 Wilson Ave.
North York, ON M3M 0B2

Our Guardian Angel Emily, please watch over us.