Beloved wife of Kenneth (known as her ‘Kenny’) for 37 wonderful and happy years; daughter of the late Ed and Joan Bailey of Waterloo; step-mother to Deirdre (Mark Wells) of Vashon, Washington and step-grandmother to Dylan of Portland, Oregon; sister of Brian (Deb) and aunt to Jessica (James Steele), all of Kitchener, Ontario; cousin to Kathy (Mark Roe) and Mark; and godmother to Michael and Matthew Montgomery of Colorado and Christina Montgomery - Meenan of Mississippi. Loving and loyal friend to many, especially BFF’s June O’Neil of Bolton, Rosemary Mowat of Barrie, and POGO gal pals Maddy Riehl, Bruna DiMonte and Helen Craig.
Born in Kitchener, Ontario, Susan graduated from Waterloo Collegiate Institute in 1971 (Ontario Scholar). She attended both Laval University and Wilfrid Laurier University from where she graduated in 1975 with an Honours B.A. (and the university gold medal.) A love of travel during her high school and university years instilled in her a desire to work overseas for CARE International, which she did for many years, first In Haiti, and then in Niger (West Africa). In Haiti she met the love of her life, her ‘Kenny’, a geologist working in that country.
After a long-distance relationship of a few years (in the days before the internet or even telephones made communications to places like Africa fast and easy!!), she and Ken decided to tie the knot, which they did in Waterloo in 1980. They set up home in Golden (Denver), Colorado. There she worked for Family Tree Inc., a non-profit organization helping families and youth at risk. They moved to Toronto in 1986 after Ken accepted a position there. Here Susan worked with Ben and Doreen Wicks at GEMS (Global Ed Med Supplies), coordinating projects in countries such as Haiti, Jamaica, Argentina, Brazil, Liberia and Viet Nam, and shipping containers of educational, pharmaceutical and medical supplies around the world. In 1991, she began work with the Pediatric Oncology Group of Ontario (POGO), where she worked full-time for many years, and saw POGO grow from just two employees to the present staff of about 60. When struck by illness in the first decade of the new century, she had to resign as a fulltime employee, but continued to serve POGO as a volunteer until shortly before her death.
Susan was a volunteer par excellence, and performed volunteer work from the time she was a teenager. Some of her happiest days were at St. Bartholomew’s Church in Regent Park (Toronto) where she worked at the early-morning Breakfast Program from 1987 until recently. When the Graces relocated to Alcona on the shores of Lake Simcoe, she refused to even contemplate giving up the Breakfast and would rise early every Thursday morning, leaving the house at 3:10 a.m. for the drive into Toronto, arriving at the church by 4:30 a.m. to open the doors and welcome all who were waiting.
A lover of life, Susan was a cheerful, positive and optimistic person, always with a ready smile for everybody. She enjoyed reading (especially mystery novels), movies, opera, ballet and the theatre, rarely missing a season at Stratford. She had an artistic streak, painting in both oils and water colours, and turned out lovely works of Japanese embroidery; her hand-made jewellery was sought by many. She was an adventurer, and she and Ken traveled far and wide, visiting more than 120 countries. She especially enjoyed ocean cruising to all parts of the globe, and river cruising on the Rhine, Danube and Moselle in Europe and the Mekong in south-east Asia. Susan and Ken developed an interest in Britain’s extensive inland canal system, a major commercial transport network from the 18th and 19th centuries now restored for pleasure boating; for many years they would annually rent a “narrowboat” and travel across the country at the leisurely pace of 4 mph to explore cities and countryside in England and Wales and, later, canals of Ireland and France. Ken skippered the boat and Susan developed her muscle strength by handling the numerous hand-operated locks. She was notorious for taking way too many pictures when on vacation, but eventually pared them down and put together a photo album as a remembrance of each adventure.
Susan had many friends and stayed in touch with people all over the world – she had a very long Christmas card list! And she never forgot anyone’s birthday. She and Ken enjoyed living in downtown Toronto for many years, before moving full-time to their weekend home on Lake Simcoe in 1999. She loved the four seasons there, and enjoyed cross-country skiing and snowmobiling on the frozen lake in the winter, the magnificent colours of the leaves in the fall, her brilliant red tulips in the spring, and lazy summer days by the water. She served as the secretary-treasurer of the local home-owners association.
When the house became too much of a burden, Susan and Ken embraced condo life in Etobicoke in Toronto in 2016. They rapidly made friends there and enjoyed their new lifestyle and the proximity it offered to all parts of the GTA as well as their old haunts around Lake Simcoe.
Susan and Ken always had a dog as a pet, mostly West Highland terriers.
Susan was diagnosed with breast cancer in late 2003 and went into remission in 2004 after two mastectomies and chemotherapy. She considered herself very fortunate and made the most of it every day thereafter. Unfortunately, the disease returned in late 2014 and metastasized to several other sites. She died in the Trillium Mississauga hospital on May 4, 2017, with her ‘Kenny’ by her side.
Many thanks go out to all who supported Susan and Ken during Susan’s battle with cancer. Special thanks to the staff at Royal Victoria Hospital, the Simcoe Muskoka Regional Cancer Centre, and Trillium Health Partners. Susan was very well taken care of for which her family is eternally grateful – your caring gave us so much more time to be together.
A funeral service will take place at St. Bartholomew’s Anglican Church, 509 Dundas Street East (east of Parliament street), Toronto, M5A 3V3, on Saturday May 13 at 1.00 pm. Limited street parking is available; paid parking may be found in the underground lot on the south side of Queen Street east near the church. The service will be followed by a reception at 2.00 pm at the premises of Turner & Porter, funeral directors, at 2357 Bloor Street West, Toronto M6S 1P4 (closest subway stop is Jane).
Instead of flowers, it is requested that a donation in Susan’s name be made to the Breakfast Program at St. Bartholomew’s, or to POGO at 480 University Avenue, Suite 1014, Toronto M5G 1X8 (www.pogo.ca).