Joan Marie (nee MacInnis) McGee

Passed away in Toronto on April 23, 2019, after a short bout of pneumonia. She was in her 85th year. She is survived by her three loving children, Frank, John and Rosemary (all Toronto). She was predeceased by her husband F. David McGee (Halifax), her sister Sheila Grant (Charlottetown), and her parents J. P. “Mac” and Mary Ann MacInnis (Antigonish). She was born in Antigonish, Nova Scotia in 1934. As a child she and her sister were strong competitors as Highland Fling dancers in the annual Antigonish Highland Games. After one year at St. Francis Xavier University (1951/1952) , she changed course and trained as a nurse at St. Martha’s Hospital School of Nursing in Antigonish, and in 1955 she became a Registered Nurse. She was particularly proud of having worked for two years as a nurse at the Cornell Medical Centre in New York City. As a Registered Nurse, she worked in numerous hospitals in Montreal and Halifax including the Home of the Guardian Angel. In her forties, she went back to university and earned a Bachelor of Arts (English and Social History) and a Bachelor of Education (1981) from Dalhousie University in Halifax. One of her greatest joys was singing. She was an active member of church choirs (St. Malachy’s Church in Montreal, and St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Halifax). And for close to two decades she was a proud member of the auditioned Dalhousie University Chorus (or Dal Chorale). One highlight of her time in the Dal Chorale was a performance at Carnegie Hall, NYC, in January 2001. She served in executive roles in many parents committees at the former St. Thomas Aquinas School and parishioner committees at St. Thomas Aquinas Church. After a stroke in 2003, she moved from Halifax to Toronto to be closer to her three children. For the last eight years of her life she suffered from dementia. Joan was known for her sense of humour and always proud of her Scottish heritage. She will be sorely missed by her three children. A Memorial Service will take place on Monday, May 6, 2019, at 10 a.m. at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish, 78 Clifton Road, Toronto.