Liz passed away suddenly but peacefully in her sleep on Sunday, July 27th.

Liz was born on April 4, 1954 in St. Catharines, Ontario. The daughter of Polish immigrants Walter and Helen (Kot) Tyszecki, she grew up in Guelph alongside her sister Christine and her brother Edward. After graduating from Bishop Macdonnell high school in Guelph, Liz went to nursing school at St. Joseph’s School of Nursing, graduating in that school’s final class in 1974, and then went onto a 44-year career as a registered nurse. She spent the bulk of her first thirty years in nursing at the intensive care unit at Toronto General Hospital, and then transitioned into management at University Health Network, where she excelled as a senior professional practice leader overseeing the hospital system and training new nurses. Among her many achievements in the nursing field, she cared for the first double-organ transplant in Toronto in the 1980s, worked with and published papers on ECMO and NovaLung, and worked tirelessly during the SARS epidemic, even at her own personal health risk. She frequently took on night shifts in order to spend the daytime with her family.

During her career, she went back to school, earning a bachelor’s degree in adult education and a bachelor’s degree in nursing, both with distinction, and a master’s degree in health sciences. She taught the personal support worker course at George Brown College, where her acuity for healthcare and her vibrant personality made her a favourite among her students.

Married in 1980 in Guelph to the equally smitten Peter Gordon, she and her husband celebrated over 44 years of marriage. Together, they bought two houses in Toronto, had a son, and vacationed within North America, to Europe, to Morocco and to the Bahamas. They also travelled to Upstate New York, Texas and Alberta to visit their son during his school and work commitments there. She shared her love of hosting, cooking and socializing with family, friends and colleagues, especially over the holidays, which were her favourite times of the year. She and her family were the proud owners of two wonderful cats, Lucky and Winston. Mere months after her retirement in 2018, she won her cottage in the Kawarthas in the Princess Margaret Hospital lottery; throughout her retirement, she referred to it as her “happy place”.

In her many life pursuits, she epitomized beauty, grace and style, while maintaining a good sense of humour and a positive life outlook. She had a great enthusiasm for life that never faded, including getting a tattoo of her guardian angel and trying parasailing during her retirement. She was and remains incredibly loved. She is survived by her husband Peter, her son Matthew, her sister Christine, her nieces Allison, Keira, Siobhan, Alexandra, Brittany and Megan, her nephews Jason, Patrick and Kyle, and extended family and friends.

Friends may call at the Turner & Porter Yorke Chapel, 2357 Bloor St. W., on Friday, August 8th from 6-9 p.m. A Service in the Chapel will take place on Saturday, August 9th at 3 p.m.