Leonora "Jeanne" Eveleigh

Leonora “Jeanne” Rhodes Eveleigh died suddenly but peacefully in her residence at Hollandview Trail Retirement Community in Aurora, Ontario, on March 8, 2019, with her daughter Karen by her side. She was 88 years old.

Jeanne is survived by her five children, Katharine Eveleigh (Cliff Smiley) of Calgary; Nancy Eveleigh Browne (Richard Browne) of Aurora; Karen Eveleigh of Toronto; Michael Eveleigh (Karen) of Aurora; and Rex Eveleigh (Mary Colleen Costello) of Aurora. She also leaves eleven grandchildren, Claire, Sam and Regan Smiley; Shaun, Adrienne and Liam Browne; Meagan, Darcy and Duncan Eveleigh; MacIsaac and Lucinda Eveleigh; and one great-grandchild, Rowan Smiley. Jeanne was predeceased by her husband, Herbert (“Bert”) Eveleigh of Grand Falls, Newfoundland and Elliot Lake, Ontario; her parents David and Minnie Rhodes of Toronto; her sister Katharine (“Kitty”) Harris and brother Berkley Rhodes both of Toronto.

Jeanne was born on August 10, 1930, in Toronto, the youngest of three children and the only one born in Canada following the family’s emigration from England. She spent most of her childhood in Toronto, Bowmanville and Montreal.

Jeanne was a vivacious and outgoing young woman who made friends easily. She met the love of her life while they both worked during fun-filled summers in Algonquin Park, Jeanne on the front desk at Highland Inn and Bert working as a fishing guide. The young couple married on October 25, 1952, in Toronto, where they set up house and started a family. Over the next several years, Jeanne and Bert welcomed the first four of their children, moving to the northern Ontario towns of Kapuskasing, Cochrane, and South Porcupine before heading back to Bert’s home province of Newfoundland (living in Grand Falls and Botwood) for a couple of years. It was there that Jeanne, the quintessential Toronto girl, baked bread in a wood fuelled oven, shooed farm animals out of her yard, and figured out how to survive Newfoundland winters without central heating. A move back to Toronto followed this east coast “adventure” until the call of northern Ontario beckoned again. The family of six re-located to Timmins, before finally settling in Elliot Lake in 1964, where youngest son Rex was born. Although Elliot Lake quickly became “home”, Jeanne’s resilience, creativity and independence were certainly forged during those early challenging years of setting up numerous homes and caring for a large young family.

Jeanne was widowed in 1974 at the young age of 44, left alone to raise five children between the ages of 10 and 21. Her children remember her proudly as a caring and patient mother who continued a lengthy and rewarding career with Denison Mines Limited as an executive assistant. Her capacity for forging great friendships supported her throughout this time, as well as her involvement in several community organizations in Elliot Lake: Girl Guides of Canada, The Elliot Lake Figure Skating Club, Big Brothers and Sisters of Canada, and the Canadian Cancer Society. Jeanne moved back to Toronto with Denison Mines in 1990 before eventually retiring to the town of Aurora in 1995. She embraced retirement with her usual zest, joining book and dinner clubs, playing bridge, and finally doing some travelling to Europe and the Caribbean. Jeanne was thrilled to be surrounded by four of her children and their growing families in Aurora and Toronto, and to be able to visit and entertain the Calgarians regularly. Family had always been her priority (with everyone gathered for Chinese food being a particular joy). She was also passionate about life’s simple pleasures ---- long walks, swimming, autumn leaves, local art, a good book, music and theatre, a glass of wine. Jeanne will also be endearingly remembered for her strong opinions and love of lively conversation.

A memorial service is scheduled for Saturday, March 16, 2019, at the Thompson Funeral Home, 530 Industrial Parkway South in Aurora. Friends and family will be received starting at 10:00 AM until the time of the memorial service at 11:00 AM, with a reception to follow. An online condolence page and directions may be found at www.thompsonfh-aurora.com. If desired, donations to the Canadian Cancer Society or to the Heart and Stroke Foundation would be appreciated. The family would like to sincerely thank the caring staff at Hollandview Trail Retirement Community for their warmth and dedication to Jeanne, and to Jeanne’s long-time family physician Dr. N. Siraj for her compassionate care.