WARDLEY, Ann Wardley

With deep love and sadness, the family of Ann Wardley announces her passing on November 16, 2025. Ann is now reunited with her beloved husband and best friend
Graham, who passed in 2000, and with her cherished daughter Elizabeth Luceno, who passed in 2008.

Ann is remembered with affection and admiration by her sons Dave Wardley (Carol), John Wardley (Susan), and Bill Wardley. She leaves behind grandchildren Eric Wardley (Ashley Drew), Ryan Wardley, Shawn Madgwick (Laura McArter), Ann-Marie Covert (Tim), and David Luceno (Dannielle), as well as great-grandchildren Madelynn, Isla, and Samuel, all of whom inherited at least some of Ann’s unending creativity.

A pillar of the Fenelon Falls community, Ann lived a life rich with adventure, service, and creativity. Together with Graham and her sons, she owned and operated Pirates Pizza, a beloved local favourite in the 1980s, where the secret ingredient was equal parts laughter and hard work. Ann and Graham also hosted their well-known barn sales, events that drew people from miles around in search of the treasures they had curated. Ann was also the original founder of the Kawartha Arts Festival, which has now been running for thirty-six years.

An entrepreneur at heart, Ann and Graham established the first door-to-door moving business in Europe. After immigrating to Canada, Ann discovered a love of painting in her late forties and became an internationally sold watercolour artist. Her most celebrated piece, titled The Survivor, depicts a Whitby lifeboatman and captures the grit and resilience that Ann herself carried.

Throughout her life Ann pursued many creative and entrepreneurial ventures. Her life brimmed with “side hustles” long before the term existed. Ideas followed her everywhere, and her enthusiasm often swept others right along with her, inspiring many others to dream bigger and try new things. She truly embodied the belief that no one is ever too old to start again. If she were still here, she would give you the advice to try something new, and to always “make time for fun.”

Most of all, Ann was the rock of her family. While small in stature (which her very tall grandchildren often teased her about) she was a force to be reckoned with. Ann raised her four children with devotion and later helped raise two grandchildren, as well as any stray kids who came through the door. Many of her grandchildren’s friends found a second home with her. She poured into people, encouraging them to reach for their potential and believe in what was possible. Those who knew Ann will remember her quick wit, her strong humour, and her unforgettable one-liners.

In keeping with her wishes, Ann was never one for flowers or sentimentality. If you would like to honour her memory, the family asks that donations be made to the Canadian Mental Health Association in Kawartha Lakes, which was a cause that mattered deeply to her. Ann was a strong advocate for mental health.

Ann showed us what it looked like to live with heart, humour, creativity, and grit. Her absence will be felt every day, and her impact will live on in all of us.