Lorna Mae Teare

She is survived by three of her children, Diana Bond (Rick), Gary (Cecilia), Alan; her grandchildren, Michael and Devon; Kiera, Brianne and Taylor; Adrian and Mara; Amélie and Sébastienne; and great-grandchildren, Matilda and Riley; Brynn, Avery and Farrah. Lorna is predeceased by her husband Frederick, her brother Garfield (Dee), sister Verna (Velmer) and her eldest daughter, Carolyn Teare-Richardson (Jim).

Lorna was born in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan and moved with her family to Edmonton, Alberta at eleven years of age. She graduated from University of Alberta (Pharmacy, 1950) as gold medalist in her class, married Fred the same year and together they lived in Chapel Hill (North Carolina), then in New York, finally settling in Toronto in 1957. Over the years, Lorna served as a hospital pharmacist in several Toronto hospitals, including many years at the Addiction Research Foundation (now Centre for Addictions and Mental Health).

Deeply committed to her Christian faith, and her local church – Willowdale Presbyterian – Lorna served in many capacities there for six decades, participating and leading in the Women’s Missionary Society (WMS), Sunday school, choir, and serving as an Elder. In the last few decades, she was actively involved on the Boards of Evangel Hall, Boarding House Ministries and the Ontario Bible College (now Tyndale University). Lorna was an accomplished pianist and loved to play and lead singing in church functions, family gatherings and social events.

Lorna is fondly remembered by her family for her strong independence, loyalty, generosity, love and support for all her family members and the communities she well supported. She amazed us all with how fully she lived her life – traveling to Asia, Africa, Central America, the Middle East, and Europe as well as continuing to go to the cottage in Haliburton on her own well into her eighties. When she moved, at age 86, to an apartment in Gates of Bayview, she quickly established a new circle of friends with whom she regularly played board games/cards and participated in exercise in the pool (“AquaBabes”).

A celebration of Lorna’s life will be held at Willowdale Presbyterian Church, 38 Ellerslie Ave., North York, at 11:00 AM, Saturday, October 15, 2022. In lieu of flowers, the family asks you to consider a donation to the Canadian Cancer Society.