Peacefully passed away, on Friday January 9, 2026, following a short stay at Credit Valley Hospital. Mary (Powell) Dobson, at the age of 97, was the beloved widow of husband Lloyd Dobson (1923-2019), and Mother to Steven and Kevin, Aunt, friend, colleague, and teacher to many who loved her.

Mary was a consummate Mother, friend and community member. She was well loved for her caring, creativity, and generosity.

The family will receive their friends at Turner & Porter Neweduk Chapel (1981 Dundas West in Mississauga) from 2-4pm and 6-8 pm Friday, January 23rd. The funeral service will be held on Saturday, January 24th, at the Streetsville United Church, at 11am. This will be followed by a reception at the church, and then the interment at the Streetsville Public Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, a donation to a charity of your choice, in Mary’s name, would be appreciated by the family.



More about Mary

Mary was born Mary Isobel Powell in the city of Peterborough Ontario in 1928, to Roy and Dora Powell. Mary had three siblings, older brothers Mac and Gerry, and younger sister Beth. A very loving and supportive family, who also kept in close contact with grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. Large family get togethers were common events growing up.

Mary, like her Mother, and other family members, was drawn to a career as a teacher. She taught in elementary schools, mostly in Brampton Ontario, which is where she met her future husband Lloyd Dobson (also a teacher), crossing paths at the Brampton Grace United Church. Mary participated in many activities with friends and colleagues in Brampton, and was even President of the North Peel Teacher’s Federation for a while. Mary gave up her career to raise a family, but still taught occasionally as a substitute teacher, and regularly as a Sunday school teacher.

Mary and Lloyd married in 1957, at Mary's home church of George Street United in Peterborough. In 1958 Lloyd became the first principal of the Streetsville High School (as it was known then) and they moved from Brampton to a newly built house in Streetsville. Mary lived in and loved that house for 67 years. They started attending the Streetsville United Church, and were both active members.

Mary was an active member and leader in the United Church Women's group (UCW). She was one of the founding members of the Streetsville United Church UCW, when it started in 1962. She particularly put a lot of effort into the annual fall fund-raising event known as the Harvest of Crafts. She was awarded a certificate for 60 years of service to the Streetsville United Church UCW in 2022.

Mary did a lot of different crafts over her life, and finding new things to create was always on her mind. She made a lot of them over the years, always being very generous to give them away to family and friends, and building up a stockpile for sale at the church fall sale. Some of the types of crafts she did included, sewing, quilting, knitting, crocheting, rug hooking, plastic canvas designs, and making many different kinds of stuffed animals and dolls. Her series of felt birds (cardinals, blue-jays, chickadees, downy woodpeckers, hummingbirds, snowy owls, great horned owls, goldfinches, Baltimore orioles,...) are a particularly well-loved craft. Her teddy bears, made in sizes from miniature to large, are also quite popular crafts. Her whimsical crafts, such as mice on skis or toboggan, bears or moose in canoe, are very creative and fun.

Mary was also a member of a ladies group affectionately known as LOCA (Ladies Of a Certain Age), made up of mostly retired teachers. This group met every week, and had a lot of fun. A very social group. One of the main things they did together revolved around quilting, but all their different craft skills were shared with one another, and their love or reading made it also a form of book club.

Mary was also community minded, volunteering for many activities. In addition to helping charities raise money, such as door-to-door donation drives, she did Meals on Wheels, and other helpful activities around the community. She was also a member of the Streetsville Library Board, helping organize for the new library building, which was built as a 1967 Centennial project.

Mary loved to read. Learning was a lifelong pursuit. She also particularly loved to read mystery books, and was visiting the library on a frequent basis.

Mary and her husband Lloyd did a lot of travelling around the world, particularly after Lloyd retired in 1982. They travelled to dozens of countries across the globe, in all continents, except Antarctica. Mary created wonderful scrapbooks and photo albums chronicling their many trips. She was also an avid photographer, capturing family, travel, and church events throughout her life. She loved to print off and give photos to others.