Obituary of Francine Maclure

MACLURE, Francine Catherine (nee Freund) Fran choose to walk into the light in her 68th year on July 19th, 2014. She passed away peacefully at home, where she wanted to be, with her husband Allen by her side. Born and raised in Montreal, Fran was one of the seven children of Joseph and Rita Freund. Each with unique talents Fran's early ones were piano and singing and she had a voice that is still remembered by people over 50 years later. Beginning a new life in Toronto in the late 70's Fran's drive to improve herself and leverage her skills lead to an advancing career in Human Resources and then Real Estate until she decided to realize a long time dream of returning to university. An eager and committed learner she enrolled at the University of Toronto and received a degree in Anthropology at the age of 50. Not one to sit still she followed this with a teaching certificate in ESL and for several summers taught young students from Quebec in a program at Glendon College. For the right cause she was always willing to give of herself and her sense of commitment made her a strong advocate. She developed a keen interest in the connections between health and the environment and became a passionate educator of this knowledge working through WHEN (Women's Healthy Environments Network). She also parlayed her skill at knitting into donating her time to the Needlework Guild of Canada, a charity, which for over 120 years, has been providing new clothing to the less fortunate of Toronto. She will be greatly missed by Allen, her husband of 32 years, sons Chris (Amanda) and Ron Legault, sisters Johanna (Joe Balligand), Rosemarie (Malcolm Green), Kathleen (Gino Lanni) and Stephanie, brother Sidney (Sharon) and her many nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her brother John and parents Joe and Rita. She will also be missed by her great friend Nikole who was consistently with her these past months with comforting words and healing hands. Her family is extremely grateful for this care and comfort. Family will receive friends at Humphrey Funeral Home 1403 Bayview Ave. Toronto Thursday July 24, 2014 from 5 to 8 PM. Funeral service will be held in the Chapel Friday July 25, 2014 at 1:00PM. As expressions of sympathy donations to the charities she gave of herself to, Needlework Guild of Canada (needleworkguildofcanadatoronto.com), WHEN (Womenshealthyenvironments.ca) or a charity of choice.