Christine Anderson passed away peacefully on a brisk sunny morning at St. Joseph’s hospital on January 12 at the age of 104. She took her last breath with family by her side.

She is survived by her daughter Michèle, her son Charlie and his wife Anita, her grandchildren Cody and wife Kamra, Hayden and wife Lindsay, Mackenzie and Drake, and her great-granddaughter Quinn.

Christine was born to Scottish parents on the banks of the river Hooghly in Calcutta, India in 1920.
At the age of four, she sailed to her native Aberdeen, where she attended St. Margaret's School for Girls until 1939. Christine was an avid athlete. She played tennis, competed in gymnastics and at one point was captain of the field hockey team. She was also part of the drama club.

She would often recount how much she resented being “locked up” in boarding school. Her one reprieve was spending summers with her cousins in the south of France – a memory she cherished deeply, so much so that she would have considered relocating there in her later years if her family was not based in Canada.

Christine finished school the summer before the outbreak of World War Two. That September she went on to study radiography at Edinburgh University. When she graduated she was sent to the largest field hospital in the UK where she treated prisoners of war. She met her late husband Bill while working there. In her frequent recollections of those years she wondered why the Germans and the British were fighting one another.

After the war, Bill and Christine moved to Hamilton, On. where they both found jobs in hospitals. When Bill got hired at Toronto General Hospital in 1952 they moved to an apartment in the city before eventually settling into their family home on Baby Point Crescent. Christine continued to work as a radiographer until she had children. Hes husband Bill passed away in 1987.

A proud descendant of the Calder, Cummings and MacGregor clans, and Anderson through mariage, Christine was a fiercely independent woman and an avid learner who remained a keen world traveler until her late 80s. In her later years she signed up for adult French lessons, followed by Spanish. When her French teacher passed away of old age, Christine decided to take up Italian instead.

Christine was known for her impeccable sense of style. Whether it was a night at the theatre or a fancy meal, she loved a night on the town, usually accompanied by a glass of Pernod.

She was also a lifelong member of the Royal Canadian Yacht Club and the Baby Point Club. Lawn bowling and bridge were among her favourite activities.

Some of her happiest moments were spent at large family gatherings in the city or at the cottage on Georgian Bay. It was there that age of 94-year Christine became determined to give paddle-boarding a try for the first time. Though she never made it far she refused to stay down when she fell.

In 2021 Christine received a letter from the queen congratulating her on her 100th birthday.

She continued to drive a car and live on her own well until her 90s, when she moved to DelManor Retirement Home. In her seven years living there she was beloved by staff and fellow residents even though she had a reputation for always knowing the answers at trivia nights.

Christine loved her family more than anything. Though it may have been masked by her razor sharp wit and Scottish stoicism, her face would light up every time she received visitors at her home; especially when her great-granddaughter Quinn was in the room.

She remained walking on her own two feet until her final days. The sound of her laughter will be greatly missed.

Christine will be buried beside her husband Bill at a private funeral on January 25th, which fittingly, is the birthday of the Scottish bard Robbie Burns.

Public visitations will be at the Turner & Porter Yorke Chapel at 2357 Bloor St. W. from 6 to 8 p.m. on January 24 and 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on January 25.

As per Christine's wishes, donations can be made to the Mission to Seafarers, which provides help and support to the 1.89 crew who face danger at sea every day.