KIMBERLEY, Nancy Ellen - Passed away peacefully on January 16, 2020 at 9pm at Markham Stouffville Hospital in her 92nd year.
Predeceased by her beloved husband of 45 years, Harold Everett Kimberley, she will be profoundly missed by her children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, great-great-grandchildren, relatives and the numerous friends she made over the years.
Nancy was a vibrant, charming and elegant lady from an era when kindness, politeness and tolerance were the hallmarks of a gentlewoman.
Nancy and her parents, Hazel and Frank Hamm, lived in Toronto where they raised Nancy and her younger sister, Susan. After graduating from Lawrence Park Collegiate, Nancy pursued studies in Art and Archeology at Victoria College, University of Toronto, where she met her future husband, Harold Kimberley, at a tea dance.
Harold was an aspiring young law student, recently back from serving as a pilot in the RCAF during WWII. Harold and Nancy were married on May 24, 1950. Nancy helped put Harold through Osgoode Hall Law School while she worked in the Egyptian Department at the Royal Ontario Museum.
Eventually settling in the Scarborough Bluffs area, they raised five (5) children: Michael (Ireyna) and their children: Crystal, Sean and Victoria (Michael’s step-daughter), Leslie (Dean) and their children: Ryan and Meghan, Vicki (Ian) and their children: Lindsay, Alex and Vanessa, Paul (Lee) and their son Ben and Daryl and her children: Julian, Una and Hannah. Nancy was lucky enough to also have several great-grandchildren and great- great-grandchildren.
A lifelong love of cottaging eventually culminated in Harold and Nancy creating a wonderful family retreat, known as Beaver House, on Bass Lake in Muskoka. There they enjoyed many magical years of family gatherings, hard work and laughter. In retirement, while not working on the cottage, they travelled to many places around the world as well as to their winter home in San Miguel d’Allende, Mexico.
Nancy’s artistic talent was exemplified in her numerous paintings, mainly portraits, which graced the walls of her many homes.
After Harold’s death in 1995, Nancy moved to Swan Lake Village in Markham where she met many fascinating and friendly people. It was here that Nancy joined the Swan Lake Palette Club and also turned her hand to jewellery making.
Nancy will be remembered for her kind and inclusive ways. She loved everyone she met and was loved by all who met her. We wish to sincerely thank the Markham Family Physicians’ “Aging at Home” team members for their outstanding care (Dr. Heather Currie, Dr. Lily Chen, Anna et al) who made it possible for Nancy, one of their inaugural patients, to stay and enjoy many wonderful years in her own home.
We would also like to thank the kind and caring staff at Chartwell WoodHaven for their care and attention to Nancy’s needs during her final years. During Nancy’s final days, the care provided by Dr. Monica Dai and the Palliative Care Team at Markham Stouffville Hospital was exemplary and greatly appreciated.
We would also like to give a very special and warm thank you to Daisy Ling, her exceptional and dedicated care giver, who looked after Nancy for the last ten years and who loved her dearly.
In accordance with Nancy’s wishes, cremation has taken place. A Visitation (11am) followed by a Celebration of Life Ceremony (12 noon) and Reception (1pm) will take place at the Dixon-Garland Funeral Home, Markham on Sunday, January 26, 2020. We would especially enjoy hearing your favourite memories of Nancy. So, please bring along your stories to share with everyone during the Celebration. We will be inviting people up to personally present them at the Celebration or we can read them on your behalf. You can also add them directly to the Dixon-Garland website.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Alzheimer Society of Toronto at alz.to.
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