AITKEN, Barbara Adelaide - Our beautiful mother passed away the morning of May 20, 2021, after a short battle with COVID-19.
Barbara was predeceased by her husband Bruce Stanley Aitken, and is survived by her children, Andrea Aitken (Gerry Estrada), Kelley Aitken, Spencer Aitken (Lynn Salituro), Daryl (Deedee) Aitken, Kathryn Aitken (Bill Taylor), Lesley Aitken (Darren Shin), and her grandchildren Tallulah Shin and Grady Shin.
She was born in 1924, the 3rd child and 1st daughter, to Gordon and Ethel Bell in Vancouver.
Coming from a huge extended family, Mom had a sublime childhood.
She played the piano, discovered her math gene, excelled in sports and spent every summer on Bowen Island. She
At 26, she met our father, Bruce Aitken, on a blind date to Niagara Falls in the back of a Volkswagon Beetle on a cold March day. She fell instantly in love and they were married 6 months later. Their early lives were adventurous, living in Vancouver, Manila, Thornhill and finally settling in 1963 in Don Mills. There they raised a loud and diverse family of 5 daughters and 1 son. Barbara was a busy mom, an active volunteer and a favourite confessor for many of our childhood friends. All of that never changed.
We want to thank the amazing care providers who ensured her final days and moments were at home and comfortable. Because of their stunning support we were able to honour her enduring wish to stay in her home until she was taken out “on a slab.”
We’ve felt lucky to have Ontario healthcare so we know our mother would endorse any remembrance made in her honour to the Canadian Red Cross Appeal to Support the COVID-19 Response in India, or her favourite causes, The Toronto Public Library, The TSO, The United Way, or Operation Smile.
We will away until we can all be together to celebrate her life.
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