Obituary of Barbara Ellen Alexander

Barbara left us after 12 difficult weeks in hospital, first at Sunnybrook and then at North York General. The nurses and doctors at both hospitals treated her with exemplary professionalism and compassion. We, her family Ted, her husband for 65 years, our daughter Sandra, our son Steven and his wife Lisa, and our granddaughters Emily and Olivia are all heartbroken at our loss.

Barbara graduated from St. Clements High School in 1953, and from the “Diamond Ring” course (she got one!) at the University of Guelph. Later in life Barb pursued her passion for art and graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from York University.

Barb was an artist, an athlete, a gardener, an angler and a big fan of Coronation Street. Her favourite place in the world was our cottage on a small lake in the Algonquin Highlands near Algonquin Park. We spent our honeymoon there in 1956. Our children spent summers there for much of their young lives and came to love it as much as we did. For the next 60 years or so, until old age slowed us down, Barb and I explored the trails, rivers, and lakes of the Highlands. We did a lot of fishing but not a lot of catching.

Barb believed her spirit would survive her death. It did. Her spirit will be with us for the rest of our lives.

Barb’s body will be cremated. Her ashes will be spread among her favourite places in the Algonquin Highlands.

There will be a celebration of Barb’s life at a later date.