Eva Peters

On Saturday, August 8, 2026, Eva Peters passed away peacefully at Fairview Mennonite Home. Her goal was to live to be 100 and she almost made it! During her long life, she had many friends and many adventures, and she will be sadly missed and lovingly remembered.

Eva was born in a small German village called Tschesterek in what is now Serbia. She emigrated to Canada at the age of two with her parents Joseph and Caroline Meisner. Her brother Joe joined the family soon after that. She grew up in Toronto near York Mills and had several jobs after high school until, in 1948, she met the love of her life, Bill Peters, a dashing pilot with Trans-Canada Airlines. She was a shy woman, but Bill gave her the confidence to be the adventurous, compassionate, social woman we all knew.

After Eva and Bill married, they moved to Willowdale, and Eva put her energy into raising a young family of three children - Joseph, Victoria, and William. Tragically, her fourth child Douglas died in infancy, and around the same time her husband Bill was diagnosed with early-onset Parkinson's Disease. These two events affected her deeply for the rest of her life. Soon after, the family moved to Thornhill and happily welcomed the arrivals of two more children, Robert and Scott.

Eva was devoted to her family, but she also found time to volunteer at Street Haven, a shelter for women in crisis, where her compassion and non-judgmental nature supported many women in distress. She also joined a curling club to socialize, and this eventually became the "Lunch Bunch" who took turns hosting elaborate luncheons to celebrate birthdays.

Eva had many jobs during her life, some paid and some volunteer. The common thread was her love of people - she enjoyed interacting with people and helping them if they needed support. After Bill passed away in 1990, she volunteered for 16 years at York Central Hospital.

Eva was very adventurous. She loved to travel to different countries, and she travelled frequently with friends. She was adventurous in other ways, especially with food. She was always trying new foods, new ingredients, new recipes, and we grew up with a wonderfully varied and nutritious diet. Her sense of adventure lives on in her children and grandchildren.

The church was important to Eva throughout her life. She attended services and participated in church activities as long as she was able.

Eva is survived by a large family: children Joseph, Victoria, William, Robert, Scott, spouses (Marilyn, Antonio, Sandra, Caryn, Kimberley), grandchildren (Christian, Jessica, Timothy, Colin, David, Paolo, Kevin, Antonio, Bryan, Craig, Robert, Martine, Rebecca, Duncan, Kyle), and great-grandchildren (Sydney, Gavin, Remy, Paul, Jace, Maisie, Elaina, Elizabeth, Nathan, Eva, Mark, James, Hudson, Donovan).

Eva cared for her dear husband Bill as long as possible at home and visited him almost daily when he moved to York Central Hospital (now called Mackenzie Richmond Hill Hospital). As an expression of sympathy, the family would appreciate donations to the Mackenzie Health Foundation or to Parkinson Canada.

We want to express our gratitude to the Fairview Mennonite Home where Eva lived during her last few months. The compassionate care that she received was exceptional and allowed her to enjoy social activities and to pass away with dignity.

A Celebration of Eva's Life will be held at Kane-Jerrett Funeral Homes in Thornhill on Saturday, October 3, 2026, from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm.