Suddenly passed away on Saturday, February 14, 2004 age 38 years. Cherished daughter of Maude Steen and the late Nils Steen. Sister of John (Chantal) and Stephen (Jeannine) Morrison. Also survived by 4 nieces, 4 nephews, 1 great niece, 2 great nephews, and several aunts, uncles and cousins. Martha also leaves behind her best friend Zöe.
A memorial service was held at Fourth Avenue Baptist Church, 109A Fourth Ave., Ottawa on Saturday, February 21st at 11 am.
Those wishing may make memorial donations to C.H.E.O.
Joyce Leaper
Lifelong Cobalt resident Joyce Leaper died February 11, 2004 at the Temiskaming Hospital following a courageous battle with cancer. She was 74.
Miss Leaper was an avid gardener and took great pride in growing her African Violets.
She was predeceased by her parents Thomas and Mary Leaper and brother Victor.
She is survived by her siblings Dorothy Leaper of Cobalt, Archie (Irene) Leaper of Cobalt, Douglas (Barbara) Leaper of North Bay, sister-in-law Edith Leaper of Michigan and several nieces and nephews whom she enjoyed immensely.
The funeral service was held at Buffam Leveille Funeral Home in Haileybury on February 13. Reverend Richard White officiated.
Memorial contributions to the Canadian Cancer Society will be gratefully acknowledged by the family.
D. Marilee MacKay
Former New Liskeard resident D. Marilee MacKay died January 20, 2004. She had been ill with cancer for nine-and-a-half months.
She was born in Parry Sound on June 14, 1940 to Dorothy Hills and Percy Robbins.
She attended Burk’s Falls Public and High Schools and Brantford Collegiate Institute and Vocational School.
She lived in Burk’s Falls until 1950 when she moved to Brantford, then returned to Burk’s Falls in 1957.
While in Brantford she worked for S.S. Kresge and in Burk’s Falls she worked at Bolton’s Restaurant.
She married Archie A. MacKay in Burk’s Falls on June 18, 1960.
Mrs. MacKay lived in Huntsville from 1960-66, Hanmer from 1966-68, New Liskeard from 1968-2002 and then moved back to Burk’s Falls.
She worked at K-Mart in New Liskeard from 1977-84 and at Sears in New Liskeard from 1988-93.
Mrs. MacKay volunteered on the executive of the New Liskeard Skating Club, was an executive of the New Liskeard hospital auxiliary and was also a figure skating judge.
She is survived by her husband Archie MacKay; children Kerri Lynn MacKay-Rivard (Gaston) of New Liskeard, Kevin Charles MacKay (Diana) of Orleans, Ontario, and Kent Allan MacKay (Roxanne) of Gatineau, Quebec; grandchildren Allan, Amy, Kina, Brayden, Lauren and Teighan; sister Nancy Woodcock (Les) of Brantford; and stepfather Walter Hills of Brantford.
The funeral was held at Dempster-Allair Funeral Home on January 23 with Reverend Denis Landry officiating.
Cremation has taken place.
Relatives and friends attending the service came from Kearney, Emsdale, Sudbury, Brantford, Oakville, New Liskeard, Melissa, London, MacTier, Niagara Falls, Hamilton, Huntsville, North Bay, Thornloe, Toronto, Ottawa and Gatineau.
Laura Zanin
Laura Zanin died February 20, 2004 at Extendicare Nursing Home in Haileybury. She was 88.
Mrs. Zanin was born in Cobalt and worked for many years as a hairdresser. She will be remembered for her wonderful sense of humour and was loved by all who knew her, she will be greatly missed.
Mrs. Zanin was predeceased by her loving husband Fiorindo Zanin on July 28, 1998; sons Val (wife Brenda) Zanin of Ottawa and John (wife Fawn) Zanin of Ottawa; daughter Delia Zanin of Cobalt; grandchildren Andrea, Benjamin, Joshua, Mark and Marie-Josée (husband James Reid); great-granddaughter Chloé; and brother Peter Genesi of Wasaga Beach.
The Zanin family will welcome friends at Ste. Thérèse Catholic Church in Cobalt on Friday, Feb. 27 at 1 p.m. A memorial mass will follow in the church at 2 p.m. Father Firmin Lafond will officiate.
Spring interment of the ashes will take place at the Cobalt Catholic cemetery.
Memorial contributions to Camp Quality will be gratefully acknowledged by the family.
The funeral is arranged by Buffam Léveillé Funeral Home in Haileybury.
Gilles J. Gervais
New Liskeard resident Gilles J. Gervais died suddenly, following heart surgery at the Ottawa Heart Institute, on February 5, 2004.
Mr. Gervais was born October 17, 1935 in New Liskeard to Albert and Cecile (Benoit) Gervais.
He worked most of his life at Armstrong Motors in the parts department. Mr. Gervais enjoyed his work and loved to spend time with his family and friends.
He is survived by his loving wife Solange (née Matteau); son Richard (Lorraine) of Kenabeek; daughters Lise (Mike) Brazeau of New Liskeard, Pauline (Raymond) Lachapelle of Belle Vallee; grandchildren Marc, Deric, Lianne Gervais, Kevin, Andrea, Clayton Brazeau, Pierre, Luc, Celine Lachapelle; sisters Fernande Sadler, Rita Larose, Noella Sadler, Aline Martin and Rachel O’Shaughnessy.
Mr. Gervais was predeceased by his parents, sister Annette Simard of Montreal, brothers Leo and Rheal of New Liskeard.
Pallbearers were grandsons Marc and Deric Gervais, Kevin and Clayton Brazeau, Pierre and Luc Lachapelle.
The funeral was arranged by Perrin Funeral Chapel in New Liskeard with the service conducted by Father Firmin Lafond at Sacred Heart Church.
Friends and family attended the service from Durham, Welland, Sudbury, Kirkland Lake, Toronto and areas, and the Tri-Towns.
Memorial contributions to the Heart and Stroke Foundation will be gratefully acknowledged by the family.
The family expressed their deep gratitude to everyone for their love and support.
Nora Evelyn Perry
Nora Evelyn Perry died February 16, 2004 in the comfort of her home in North Cobalt, surrounded by her loving family.
She was born in Cobalt on December 31, 1920 to Richard Burke and Ellen Mae (née Quinn) MacPherson.
She was educated in North Cobalt and Haileybury and married John William “Jack” Perry on December 3, 1943 in New Liskeard.
She worked as an ONR long distance telephone operator and was a school board trustee for many years.
Mrs. Perry was the recipient of the Queen’s Jubilee Silver Medal in recognition of her continuous contributions to her community over the years.
She will always be remembered for her devotion to family, pride in her community and her zest for political activity.
Mrs. Perry was predeceased by her parents; her daughter Ellen Mae Perry; brothers Norman and Howard MacPherson; and by her sisters Ethel MacPherson and Edna Audette.
She is survived by her loving husband Jack at home; sister Jean Lafoy of Oshawa; sons John Wayne Perry (and Trudy Sauvé) of North Cobalt, Bert Lyle Perry (and Paulette) of North Bay and Glen Allan Perry of North Cobalt; grandsons Craig Perry (and Talli) of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and Dean Perry (and Becky) of Toronto; chosen grandsons Brad Sauvé (and Kim) of North Cobalt and Sam Sauvé (and Erika) of New Liskeard; and great-grandchildren Ellen Mae Perry, Kayla Sauvé, Emma Sauvé and Owen Sauvé.
Visitation is at the Buffam Léveillé Funeral Home in Haileybury on Wednesday, Feb. 18 from 2-4 p.m. and 7-9 p.m. The funeral service will be on Thursday, Feb. 19 at 11 a.m. at the funeral home with Reverend Kitty Miller officiating.
Spring interment will follow at Mount Pleasant cemetery in Haileybury.
Pallbearers will be Craig Perry, Sam Sauvé, Richard Lafoy, Che Lafoy, Darryl Audette, Kyle Audette, Keith MacPherson and Brian MacPherson.
Friends and family will attend from Iowa, Hamilton, Toronto, Oshawa, North Bay, Timmins and the Tri-Town area.
Memorial contributions to the Arthritis Society will be gratefully acknowledged by the family.
Mary Vandervliet Graydon
Mary Catherine Vandervliet Graydon passed away peacefully at Temiskaming Lodge on Friday, February 13, in her 92nd year, after a brief illness.
She was born July 23, 1912 in Montreal and moved to New Liskeard in 1920 from Lachute where she first developed her love for sports.
After moving to New Liskeard, she continued to enjoy sports and played on many school teams including hockey, softball and running. She further developed interest in track and field when she joined the Alerts under coach Percy Craven. They competed in many track meets around Ontario and Quebec, often coming out the victors.
While busy training, she worked part-time at the telephone company. She became increasingly well-known in the community as the success of the Alerts grew. Mary was the two time 100 and 200 metre senior champion and was ranked as one of the top 12 female sprinters in the world. With the support of local businessmen, she was given the opportunity to train in Toronto under Reg Canning. With this experience she soon found herself at the Canadian trials for a spot on the 1932 Olympic team.
Mary turned 20 years of age on her way to Los Angeles for the Olympic games. At a stop en route to the Olympics she had the pleasure of meeting the famous actress Mary Pickford. She did New Liskeard proud, finishing 4th in her heat in the 100 metres event. She just barely missed a chance at the medal race and returned to a hero’s welcome in New Liskeard.
She went back to work at Northern Telephone full-time where she stayed for 25 years. She continued to be actively involved with the Alerts and just missed making the Canadian team for the 1936 Berlin Olympics.
In 1937, she married Harold Graydon and together they raised their family. She helped coach several athletes at the high school level for many years and assisted at her children’s track meets. Sadly, Harold passed away in 1976. The new track at Timiskaming District Secondary School was named after her in the spring of 2000 in recognition of her achievements.
She is remembered fondly by her children, Jim (Penny), Peter (Sharron), Bill (Judi) and Colleen (Richard). She is also survived by nine grandchildren and fifteen great-grandchildren who will miss her very much.
A service of celebration and remembrance was held Monday, February 16, 2004 at Perrin’s Funeral Chapel. Family and friends attended from all over Ontario and as far away as Alberta.
Mary always retained her love of sports. In a quote in a July 15, 1987 Temiskaming Speaker article she summed up her running experience. “I didn’t care if I won all the time… It isn’t the winning. It’s the sportsmanship.”
