Marie Catherine Grace

Marie Catherine Grace, formerly of St. John's, Newfoundland, was born August 13th, 1925 and died July 5th, 2018 at St. Joseph's Hospital, Toronto from complications of pneumonia following a nine-year battle with Alzheimer's Disease. Loving daughter of James and Florence (nee Fahey) Sullivan she supported and cared for her parents until their deaths in 1981 and 1986, respectively. She was also predeceased by husband Lance Grace (Grand Falls, NL, d.1963), her brother James Sullivan (St. John's, NL, d.1980) and sister Margaret Murphy (Wainwright, AB, d.2006). After the death of her husband, she solely supported her children by becoming a civil servant with the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, eventually retiring at age 63. She leaves to mourn in Toronto, her daughter, Judy Grace, son-in-law Leo Dillon, grandson Christopher Dillon of Toronto, son James Grace of Stephenville, Newfoundland as well as many cousins, nephews, nieces, in-laws and friends. Marie's passion in life was travel and she flew and drove extensively within the US and Canada with parents and children. She also explored Europe with her children as early the 1960s. She went on cruises with friends in the Caribbean and Hawaii and spent a series of winters in Florida. She was also deeply religious in her personal Catholic faith, but always respected and accepted other traditions, faiths and beliefs. During her travels, she demonstrated her faith by visiting the Vatican where she was touched by Mother Teresa, Notre-Dame, Sacré-Coeur and other famous European Churches as well as making pilgrimages to many revered Catholic Shrines, most notably Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré, St. Joseph's Oratory, Lourdes and Fatima. She was a loyal and dependable friend who had an open, generous and accepting personality that easily connected with good people everywhere. She brought people from different aspects of her life together for the enrichment of all. She loved all generations of her family and nurtured familial connections and relationships. She was strongly independent, curious, hard-working and fearless. Her unique spirit will be sorely missed. Visitation will be at Jerrett Funeral Home at 1141 St. Clair Avenue West, Toronto, Ontario on Monday, July 9th 2018 from 6pm to 9pm and from 9am to 10am on Tuesday, July 10th, 2018. Her funeral will be held at 10:30am on Tuesday the 10th of July at St. Clare Catholic Church, directly across the street. Her cremated remains will be buried with her parents at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in St. John's, Newfoundland in August.