Claire Marie Villafana

Claire Marie Villafana, age 89, of Toronto, Ontario passed away on Friday, June 27, 2025. Claire was loved and will be remembered as a sister to Molly Duncan, Joyce Paterson, and Frank Patrick. She is predeceased by her parents Bertie and Laurencine Villafana, her siblings Otto and Joan, and her nephew Joel Duncan and will be welcomed into heaven by them.

She was the beloved aunt to Marcia Joseph, Patricia and Vernon Duncan, Ancil and Trevor Duncan and Dwayne Paterson. She was also the dear great aunt to Rachel Joseph, Sidoney and Malik Duncan, Tyler and Skai Duncan, and Zuri and Zoie Duncan.

She will be terribly missed by her extended family, Carol and Kent Villafana, Angela Daniel & Family, The Sorzano Family , The Palmer Family , The Chaleries Family, The Songui Family, Patsy Durity & Family. As well as her dear friends Maude McLean and the Petit Family and Maurice Preston & Family.

The family would like to extend their deepest gratitude to Claire’s Caregivers, Doctors, Nurses, and Dr. Janet Roscoe. Thank you for all your help.

A visitation for Claire will be held Sunday, July 20, 2025 from 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM at Giffen-Mack & Trull Funeral Home, 2570 Danforth Ave, Toronto, ON M4C1L3. A funeral mass will occur Monday, July 21, 2025 from 10:30 AM to 11:30 AM at Holy Name Parish, 71 Gough Ave, Toronto, ON M4K 3N9. A urn committal will occur Thursday, July 24, 2025 at Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Cremation and Funeral Centres, 375 Mt Pleasant Rd, Toronto, ON M4T 2V8.

Memories from Canada: Claire began working for me as my administrative assistant in 1978 when I began as a staff nephrologist at the Wellesley Hospital. From the beginning she was steadfastly loyal and dedicated. However, she was more than just my administrative assistant. Every Christmas she would spend hours baking for her friends including myself. She would finish her baking late Christmas Eve and usually my husband (plus or minus young children – James, Karyn and Christopher) and later my son James would bring down some Christmas gifts to Claire and she would give them the many containers of cookies, cakes and breads she had made. We could count on her Christmas breads for our family Christmas breakfast and her variety of delicious cookies for use throughout the Christmas season when guests dropped in. Claire attended many family celebrations with us entertaining my children with her jokes and good humour.

Claire was very cultured. She loved opera. My sister and I had season tickets to the opera, and we would often see Claire at productions. She was very frugal though so always took tickets in the lower price zones which did not detract from her enjoyment in any way. She was very artistic. When I first visited her home, I was impressed by some artistic sculptures she had displayed on pedestals in her hall and living room. It was to my great surprise that I learned that some of these were her own works – she had attended art classes at the AGO and learned how to do her own sculpture. She also loved rug hooking and belonged to a rug hooking club.

She was very musical. She attended Holy Name Catholic Church and sang in the Holy Name choir. She was very proud of their concerts. She had a piano in her living room which she played and records of opera productions which she played on her record player.

She had worked three jobs a week almost since arriving in Canada. Two part-time weekend and evening clerical jobs in patient registration at the Toronto Western Hospital and her full-time job with the Wellesley Hospital where she was assigned to me as my administrative assistant. With these jobs she was able to buy her home at 112 Donlands Ave. She relied somewhat on the advice of her late friend Archie Webb who lived nearby, in choosing the home. I loved her house. It had style and a great backyard. Claire funded her mortgage by taking in students as boarders – whom she loved and befriended. Later she renovated her house by putting in an enclosed basement apartment built to code first to rent and later hoping her brother might live there which sadly did not work out. She added an addition to the back of the home and skylights in the roof. It was always amazing to hear about her projects and amazing to me that she could carry it off with the income from the three jobs, the renters, and her innate frugality.

Claire was indefatigable as her sister Joyce said and in her spare time (after working the three jobs, singing in the choir, taking art lessons, hooking rugs, and attending the opera) she stripped down the wood trim herself and re-stained the wooden accents. She was very frugal, so she scoured antique and thrift stores for bargains and picked up stylish but broken pieces in disrepair and brought them home to repair and use in her dining and living areas. She had many friends who were happy to help and one time visiting her I was surprised to find one of the hospital orderlies working away repairing a China cabinet for her. She had obtained lovely sets of China and crystal in her searches and had them displayed beautifully in her dining room. She and “the girls” – her many friends in the administrative assistant pool used to get together on weekends and have formal dinners in each others’ homes where they would prepare a nice meal and serve it on their elegant China and drink from their elegant crystal.

Since Claire was employed by the Wellesley Hospital she would have lost her pension when the hospital closed due to restructuring in 1998 after working for me for 20 years. For that reason, she took an early retirement package in 1998 when she was 62. She continued to work for me part time however doing my typing and filing. She typed the letters at home and came up to file them at my new office near the Scarborough Hospital where I had relocated after restructuring, on weekends or during the week. She continued doing this for another 20 years until 2018 when her health was declining and it was no longer possible to continue.

Claire’s other hobby was gardening. She loved to garden – her yard was a profusion of roses. She had a white picket fence around the perimeter of her front yard and inside were a dense array of rose bushes. Similarly, her back garden was filled with bushes and flowers. In addition, she regularly picked up dishes at the thrift stores and she used them to pot plants and cuttings, filling her front porch, kitchen, and back porch with pots of plants in various stages of growth.

Claire was frugal so maintained her budget by careful shopping – marked down meat and vegetables and brown bananas. Even when beginning to decline she insisted on walking down to Danforth where she would examine the offerings at a little fruit and vegetable store and bargain with the owner to get a suitable price. She walked most places so remained fit and slender during her life making it possible to avoid replacing clothes she had outgrown.

Claire had courage. Thirty years ago, she was embroiled in a dispute with a neighbour about a property line. She took the neighbour to court. I was horrified. I thought this was a David and Goliath situation and that she was David. I didn’t think she had a chance. I thought it would be hugely expensive, that she would lose and still have to live beside her neighbour. I begged her to drop the case. She just set her jaw and continued. And she won the judgement, and court costs and has a permanent right of way on the property.

Claire loved her home. Gradually most of her friends “the girls” had passed away or moved back closer to their families, some as far away as the UK. She had outlived her rug hooking friends and she was struggling to manage at home. Her brother, the late Otto Villafana and her sister Joyce as well as her nephews Ancil and Dwayne were all very concerned about her and came up to Canada at various times to see how she was doing. Claire and I drove around to see retirement homes and she knew that one of the friends had moved into a retirement home and seemed to like it. After a health episode she agreed to temporarily go into one of the retirement homes we had looked at. Unfortunately, she hated it and just wanted to go back to the home she loved. With her sister Joyce’s agreement that is what she did. Joyce and her son, Claire’s nephew Dwayne came up to help declutter the house. The basement apartment she had made long ago was spruced up to rent and Claire moved back home. She took in tenants in the apartment and boarders in her two extra bedrooms – reminiscent of her early days in the house, in order to afford the 24/7 care. We were very lucky to find Natasha of Passionate Care Services who was recommended to me by one of the nurses at the Scarborough Hospital. Natasha and her wonderful team of caregivers looked after Claire lovingly until she passed on June 27, 2025. Apart from one short hospitalization two years ago Claire remained happy and comfortable at home until the night before she passed a few hours after suddenly developing some abdominal symptoms.

Claire was a wonderful, strong, hardworking, loving, kind, generous person who lived a good life and was blessed by God to stay in her own home until her peaceful end after a life well lived.

Memories from Family: Claire Marie Villafana was born on February 2, 1936 on the island of Trinidad in a small village called Matura. Claire was the eldest of 6 children, born to Laurencine Sorzano Villafana and Bertie Villafana.

She spent her formative years in Trinidad, growing up in another village called Success Village in Laventille. At High school she pursued courses in typing and shorthand in which she excelled, as back in those days, these were the skills deemed necessary for success. While still a teenager, our Aunt offered her the opportunity to migrate to New York city and thus started her adventure away from home. She spent a few years in New York then migrated to Canada which she absolutely adored and has been her adopted home ever since.

I'm certain that everyone, who would have known her, could say without a shadow of a doubt that her favorite room in her home was her kitchen. If she could, she would spend a whole day in the kitchen, a trait she shared with our mother. She had a passion for cooking and baking. Whether it was pan fried chicken with sautéed vegetables to her tasty muffins, cheese cakes, cookies and other delicious treats. Her passion for cooking and baking allowed her to connect with her friends and family as she would frequently have them over for dinner.

Claire always kept herself active. Whereas most of us would find relaxation and a means of escape by watching our favorite television shows she would rather spend the time in her garden, a trait she shared with our brother Otto, nurturing her many flowers or reaping her vegetables. She enjoyed everything to do with arts and craft such as embroidery, knitting and making rugs and would often do this in conjunction with one of her favorite pastimes, listening to Opera music. She was an active member of her church's choir and would also willingly volunteer herself for other activities.

Claire was independent, selfless, and friendly. A woman grounded in her faith and love for God. She lived a life of simplicity. She was kind. She was generous. She had a unique sense of humor and loved to entertain. That was Claire Marie Villafana. My sister.

The family would like to extend a special thanks to Dr Janet Roscoe and family, and Ms. Natasha and family for their care and companionship of Claire to the very end.

May eternal rest be granted unto her.