We are heartbroken to announce that Sylvia Earlene (Hayes) Hardill (December 16, 1937 – April 29, 2021) passed away at her home after a long illness. Predeceased by her parents Doug and Jeanne Hayes.
Sylvia will be profoundly missed by her beloved husband of 60 years, Robert (Bob) Hardill, and by her daughters Kathy (the late Robert Callaghan) and Susan (Deepinder), as well as her treasured grandchildren Jason, Arun, and Anisa; her cherished sister Suzanne McMillan (John), and her beloved aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews as well as her many dear friends from church, work and community.
Sylvia came into the world ahead of schedule, born many weeks prematurely – and family often joked that it was the only time in her life she was ever early for anything. She quickly mastered the art of speech and talked so much in public school that one of her teachers asked her if she’d been vaccinated using a gramophone needle.
At the tender age of seventeen, she enrolled in the Peterborough Civic Hospital School of Nursing. Nursing was her vocation and her dedication to it infused every pore of her being. She worked as a nurse for many years, and she happily nursed community members who needed care at home when she was not at work – sometimes bringing her daughters along for the visit. This as well as her tender care of her children growing up when they were ill taught them, although they didn’t know it at the time, that nursing is made up of acts infused with love and compassion and both daughters followed in her footsteps into the profession. It should be noted though that it was next to impossible to fake being sick to get out of anything as Mom never fell for any of it.
Her love story with Bob was one for the ages. Although he loved to tell the story of asking her out for their first date on a Tuesday, rather than a Saturday, thinking he would have a better chance of success, Sylvia knew right away that he was the one. She absolutely adored him and was in his corner every single moment of every day for more than sixty years. After Bob retired they were inseparable – a bond which only strengthened as the years have gone by.
Dedicated to her faith, she joined the Bridgenorth United Church family after she married Bob. She was intimately involved in church life – organizing church dinners and teas, teaching Sunday school, belonging to the United Church Women’s group, lending her beautiful alto voice to the choir, and performing lay visiting in homes and hospital. She never forgot her Anglican roots, attending Anglican Christmas Eve services for many years.
Sylvia was a talented artist and painter and she loved the natural world. Her name means “of the woods” and she always knew where to find pussy willows in the spring and bittersweet vine in the fall. She instilled in her offspring a deep love of birds and wildflowers and taught them to see the miraculous in ordinary things. She was the glue that held family together for decades, hosting countless gatherings for all the holidays and sometimes for no reason at all. Her Canada Day parties in particular became legendary.
If anyone wishes to make a memorial donation in Sylvia’s memory, she would have appreciated donations to Bridgenorth United Church http://www.bridgenorthuc.com/ or to Telecare Peterborough http://www.telecarepeterborough.org/
Sylvia, we shall profoundly miss your love, compassion and wisdom, and your seemingly endless optimism. Although our hearts are broken, we are immensely grateful for your bountiful gifts which helped shape us into the humans we have become.
Due to the pandemic, a private service will be held. Friends are invited join a live stream of the service on Wednesday, May 5th at 1:30 p.m. through the Comstock-Kaye Life Celebration Centre webpage (from Sylvia’s obituary, scroll down to service and click join livestream).
Live Stream and online condolences are available at www.comstockkaye.com
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