Sonia Winifred Grogono

It is with a deep sense of loss we announce the passing of Sonia Winifred Grogono, nee Parsons, on 21st June, 2026, just a few weeks short of her 98th birthday. She passed peacefully in her home on Gorsebrook Avenue, Halifax, with her two daughters at her side. Her wisdom and wit will be greatly missed, by her family and all who knew her.

Sonia Winifred Grogono (née Parsons) was born in Ealing, London, on July 15, 1928, to her parents, Ernest and Wynifred "Wyn" Parsons (née Kitto). Shortly after her birth, the family moved to Pinner Hill, a London suburb.

At the tender age of six, Sonia started boarding school. While leaving home was difficult at first, she grew to like it, sharing happy memories of playing lacrosse and enjoying time with her friends.

The Second World War had a profound impact on her family. During air-raids, they would sleep in a bomb shelter in their garden. Amidst strict rationing, families were encouraged to have "victory gardens" and chickens, which the Parsons did.

Later children were evacuated from the dangerous London area. Sonia and her family went to her mother's hometown of Perranporth, a wonderful Cornish town with a three-mile-long beach.

After finishing school, Sonia pursued various courses, including cooking, secretarial skills, and training as an X-ray technician. It was while working in the X-ray department Oxford that she met her future husband, Basil. When asked about her best vacation, Sonia always said it was her honeymoon on the Isle of Wight.

For the first few years of their marriage, Sonia helped support Basil as he worked towards his exams to become an orthopedic surgeon.

Accommodation was difficult to find, and they settled for a less-than-ideal flat with no phone. As Sonia was needed at the hospital at all hours to perform x-rays, the police would knock on their door to fetch her for work.

The couple’s four children, Stella, Clive, Alice, and Mathew, were born while the family was living in Hounslow, London, under the flight path of Heathrow Airport.

After a few years, Basil accepted a job in Winnipeg, Canada, as there was an abundance of doctors in the UK after the war. He left six months ahead of the family, as Sonia was expecting their fourth child, Matthew. After Matthew was born, Sonia and the children flew to Winnipeg to join Basil.

Sonia made the most of life in Winnipeg, raising her children and supporting Basil in his work, though she forever missed her homeland and her family there. She faithfully wrote a letter to her mother once a week, as phone calls were a rare, three-minute luxury. The family made several trips back to England for holidays.

After ten years of mosquitoes and frigid winters, the family moved to Halifax in 1969, which felt more like England and was closer in location. Sonia made her home Halifax for the rest of her days.

She made many friends and was a keen member of the Halifax Antiquarian Society, for which she wrote many papers on a variety of topics. Sonia remained an honorary member.

Moving to Halifax was not the end of their adventures. Basil took short-term posts in both Yellowknife and Bermuda - two places whose contrast couldn’t have been greater.

As always, Sonia made the best of each situation. She loved Bermuda and often entertained visitors keen to enjoy the beautiful climate. She enjoyed riding her motor scooter around the island, as is the custom.

After Basil’s passing in 2015, she lived with her dog, Mona, for a while, before her oldest grandson, Jason, came to stay. Later, her daughter Alice moved in, enabling Sonia to remain in her own home.

Sonia had a great passion for genealogy and did extensive work on her family tree long before it was trendy, tracing her Cornish line back to the 1500s. Her research led to correspondence with relatives around the world. She was a considerate hostess, a good cook, and had a sharp mind for games like Scrabble, chess, and bridge. She even took a course in carpentry and built the dining room table around which the family gathered for many years.

To her surprise, she became the matriarch of a large family, with nineteen grandchildren: Julia, Joanna, Daniela, Jason, Pamela, Philip, Anthony, Sarita, Richard, Matthew, Genevieve, Dominique, Julian, Pascale, Imogen, John, Chloe, Hannah, and Sophie; five great-grandchildren: Kenny, Selena, Monty, Leland, and Desmond; and one great-great-grandchild, Gaia, and another on the way.

Her family brought her much joy. She was a strong woman, forged in the fires of World War II, who loved all of her children, their children, and their children's children.