It is with deep love that we announce the passing of our mother and grandmother, Verna Calista Van Sickle, who passed away peacefully in the presence of family at the age of 93.

She is survived by her children: Eric, Shane, Erin (Kim), and Shauna (Richard); and her grandchildren: Aurora (William) and Caden.

Verna’s childhood home in Vancouver, BC, was just steps from the ocean and the entrance to Stanley Park. Her formative years were shaped by a profound connection to the natural world in which she was immersed. Although Verna, an innate extrovert, was an avid conversationalist with a sharp intellect, her most quietly remarkable gift was an intuitive, naturalistic intelligence: an ingrained ability to love and nurture all living creatures, and, more abstractly, a lifelong devotion to the arts.

Verna migrated to Toronto in her teenage years, working alongside her father in the Toronto Film Society. In the 1960s, she owned a record store (Towne Records in the Yorkville district), founded a model’s union that successfully organized for a living wage, and studied the cello. The folk music of that era— including the voices of Joan Baez and Pete Seeger— resonated deeply with her poetic soul and echoed her values of justice, compassion, and peace.

Verna’s joyful and serene connection to nature continued throughout her life, enriched by regular walks in Toronto’s High Park and by decades spent as a cottage owner in the beauty and community spirit of Camp Naivelt— a place that brought her peace, friendship, and renewal.

Friends may call at the Turner & Porter Yorke Chapel on Tuesday, July 15, 2025 from 11am-12pm. A funeral service will be held in the Chapel at 12pm. A reception will follow. Burial will take place at Riverside Cemetery, 1567 Royal York Road, at 2pm.