Sheila Margaret Johnston Johnston

She was predeceased by her husband, Garth Scott Wannan, brother Paul Raymond Johnston, and sister Barbara Jeanne Moffat. She will be sadly missed by her son, Scott. Left to mourn her passing are her brother-in-law David Moffat, Peterborough, ON; Lynn and Ruby Johnston of Windsor, ON; and numerous nieces and nephews.

Sheila was born in Hanover, Ontario, on April 13th, 1952, the third of four children. She graduated from Georges Vanier Secondary School in 1966 in the fashion arts program. From there, she attended Trent University, studying English and graduating in 1975.

Her first job post-graduation was at the Tillsonburg News, where she covered stories like daredevil car drivers and local concerns about exotic pets near provincial parks.

From there, she moved to Consumers Gas (now Enbridge) and worked on its internal newspaper, The Blue Flame, before becoming a managing editor for the Canadian Institute for Chartered Accountants. Moving to Fleming College, she taught a variety of courses, including women’s studies and communications.

In 1987, Sheila and Garth moved to Winnipeg, where she took a job teaching at Red River Community College. Scott was born in 1989, and Sheila continued teaching children’s and Canadian literature, as well as library technology, full time through the 2010s. Every summer, Sheila, Garth, Scott, and their black Labrador, Trouper, would make the three-day drive through the US to spend the entire summer at the family cottage next door to the one where Sheila grew up.

Sheila and Scott moved back to Peterborough, and she has occupied her time with learning to paint with watercolors as well as making at least half a dozen mixed-media journals and altered books.

They attended several years of the Kitchener Blues Festival and enjoyed hearing the sounds of the Havelock Country Jamboree waft across Round Lake.

With her medical issues mounting, Sheila decided to once again carve her own path and departed on Friday, July 19, 2024, at Loonsong Cottage with her son Scott by her side.

In lieu of flowers donations can be made in Sheila’s name to Inclusion Canada or your local Arts & Culture Fund.