Obituary of Sheila Poulton

Sheila (nee Maciver) Poulton passed away at home surrounded by loving family and friends on September 13, 2018, at the age of 88. With great sadness but also tremendous gratitude we mark the passing of Sheila, a friend, sister, mother, grandmother, adventurer and role model of intelligence, determination and resilience who was the touchstone and centre of our world for these past cherished decades. 

Sheila was born in Sault St Marie and spent her childhood there and in the south, never far  from lakes and especially the St. Lawrence River. She was a bold and adventurous teenage swimmer, regularly crossing on her own between the islands near Ivy Lea and Ganonoque, even being welcomed by surprised Americans for lunch when she swam to that distant shore and back. She soon found bigger ponds to travel, when she completed her nursing program at Toronto East General Hospital in 1952 and became one of the first flight attendants with Trans Canada Airlines travelling across the new Pacific Ocean routes and back, and all over Canada. Sheila was a professional nurse for many years, while raising her four children. Later she brought the family to new waters with her, boating on Lake Simcoe and in the Kawarthas for many years. She was a strong, capable single mother at a time when single parenthood was much rarer than today, and faced many challenges and discrimination from a world around her that was not very welcoming of such families, but boldly carried on. She launched all her kids as university graduates with successful careers and continued to be the centre of the family for caring connections and holiday gatherings through the years.

Sheila is remembered with love by her children, Tracey (John), Scott, Brent (Indra)and Lori (Dave), and her grandhildren Savannah, Dorian and Claire. She is survived by her sisters, Nancy and Sandra, and predeceased by her parents Catherine and Donald Maciver. In her last months Sheila was diligently cared for by all her children and the caregivers from the Temmy Latner centre and the Toronto East General Hospital palliative care unit, to whom the family gives many thanks. The family is especially indebted to daughter Lori and sister Nancy (mother of Jim) for their sacrifices in ensuring daily care and support in home care these last months. In recent years Sheila also enjoyed her many contacts with, and is fondly remembered by, her friends Claire and Adele, and her in-laws Margaret and Ray. In her final months Sheila remained clear and resilient, and in charge of her life. She was always asking how her family members were doing and making sure they were taken care of in whatever ways she could help. In our sorrow, this is the legacy of caring we will proudly carry forward in remembrance of her.