Philippa Marguerite Verrier

Philippa Marguerite Verrier (née Hansard) passed away peacefully with family in Halifax on

February 20, 2025, of cancer. She was 91.

Born in 1933 in Montreal P.Q. to Marguerite and Hazen Hansard, Pippa was educated at

Trafalgar School for Girls and McGill University (Bachelor of Arts). She married William

Lawrence Verrier in 1953, and raised four children in Montreal, Halifax and London, England.

She always thought of herself as a Montrealer, but Halifax was her adopted home for the last

50 years of her life.

Pippa loved and supported the arts in all forms and, after receiving a Master’s in Public

Relations from the University of Mount St. Vincent, worked in promotions for Scotia Festival,

Musique Royale, Symphony Nova Scotia, and the Orchestre Symphonic de Montreal. She

wrote for arts journals, interviewing noted Nova Scotian artists and musicians.

Always kind-hearted and gracious, Pippa volunteered at Meals on Wheels for decades. She

was curious and open minded, with a strong sense of humor and a quick laugh. She was

devoted to her far-flung family, and enjoyed summers all her life in Metis Beach, Gaspé P.Q.

with her children and grandchildren in her quirky home, a wedding gift from her mother. Pippa

was the author of “Love from the Hansards”, a biography of her father, a prominent Montreal

lawyer. Like her father, she always loved having a dog - with a particular penchant for Scotties.

Her final companion was the imperturbable Skittles; they spent their final days together dozing

side-by-side on the sofa.

Pippa leaves behind a beloved family: her son Hugh in New York (Celia, with children

Genevieve, Hugh and Emerson), her daughter Wendy in England (Michael, with children Lucy,

Olivia and Jeremy), her daughter Linda in Melbourne, Australia (Richard, with children Bryden

and Jonathan), and her son Richard in Los Angeles (Keiko, with children Leina and Julian), in

addition to her great grandchildren Johanna, Elliott, Erika, Jude, Jack, and Lily, and cousins Bill

and Peter Barry. She was predeceased by her twin brother Hugh Hansard of Naples, Florida,

who is survived by his wife Diane and children Hazen and Caroline. She also leaves behind her

sister-in-law Patricia Joyce (son Carlton) and many lifelong friends.

Pippa's family would like to thank Tina Battcock and the other wonderful carers from Home

Instead, and the kind staff at Parkland in the Gardens, for all the help and support they gave

Pippa.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to ElderDog Canada. This

summer, the family will gather in Metis Beach to honor Pippa where she will be buried next to

her grandchild Erika.