Obituary of Lois Joan Gilday

Lois Joan Gilday died on October 25, 2019 at Kingsway Nursing Home in St. Marys ON. She was 94. Her final month was spent with her three children, each travelling from afar to embrace the love of family.Joan looked forward to being reunited with her beloved husband Bill, who died in 2015. Joan was born on July 11, 1925 in Toronto, ON to Norman and Lois Carmichael. She married her childhood sweetheart, Bill Gilday, in 1943 beginning a family and true love story of 72 years. She is survived by daughter Barbara of Bellingham, WA, and sons Bill and David and their wives, Cindy and Pam, of Yellowknife, NWT. Joan had a great love of family, which included 7 grandchildren and their spouses and 10 great grandchildren. She also leaves behind, her beloved sister Peggy Higgins and her family.From her early days, Joan loved gardening, creating beautiful gardens in the shade of a London home, at their country acreage near Granton, then in St. Marys. With her friends in St Marys, Joan became an avid quilter, lovingly providing quilts for her children, and for each grandchild as they got married. She was a great cook, always exploring new recipes and meals, but none better than her prime rib and Caesar salad.A memorial service will be held for Joan at Fairhill Residence, 310 Queen St. E, St. Marys on Saturday November 2, 2019 at 3pm. In lieu of flowers, donations are gratefully accepted in her name to Operation Smile (www.operationsmile.ca) which provides surgery for children with cleft palate or Camp Oochigeas (ooch.org), for children with cancer, two of Joan’s favorite charities.