HIGGINS, Madeleine Higgins

She passed away on May 15 at her retirement home in Toronto. She lived for many years with advanced dementia, and in the end slipped away peacefully in her sleep. Through her illness, she continued to laugh and smile and was well-loved within her retirement community.

Born on her family’s farm outside Trois-Pistoles, Madeleine left rural Quebec as a young woman to find work and learn English in Toronto, where she met and married my father, Vince. Even after 65 years living in English Canada, she managed to retain both her Québecois accent and her distinctive sense of style. Every summer of my childhood, we went back to my mother’s childhood home, in the Bas-St-Laurent, where she loved to laugh, sing, and dance with her ten brothers and sisters and their families.

Madeleine Higgins and Vince committed to travelling as much as possible in their retirement years, cruising around virtually every corner of the world for as long as they were able. Madeleine lived well and made the most of her 90+ years.

She was a beloved grandmaman to our kids, Théo and Camille. We’ll all miss her sparkle and her laughter.

Funeral Service
Saturday, June 20, 2026 at 10:30 am
Chapel of St. Joseph at Holy Cross Catholic Funeral Home
211 Langstaff Road East, Thornhill, Ontario, L3T 3Z6

Inurnment
Resurrection Mausoleum at Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery
8361 Yonge Street, Thornhill, Ontario, L3T 2C7