Beatrice Mary Homer

Beatrice Mary Homer, age 88, teacher extraordinaire, storyteller, real-estate aficionado, and second mom to scores of nieces and nephews across three generations, entered eternal life on August 21, 2025, surrounded by family.

Beatrice’s indomitable spirit is carried on by her surviving sister, Barbara Keslick, and her brother, Paul Homer, as well as 20 nieces and nephews, 30 grand-nieces and nephews and nine great-grand-nieces and nephews. She will be lovingly remembered by their spouses and partners, too numerous to include here, but not forgotten. Beatrice will be profoundly missed by her surviving cousin, Renee Bruce, and family. She will also remain in the hearts of her countless friends (including close Christine Longo), many of whom fondly referred to her as “Aunt Bea”.

Beatrice is predeceased by her parents, Ivy and Wellington “Buff” Homer; her siblings and their spouses, Margaret (Graham, Jim), Ray (Mary), Charles (Joan), Wellington (Marjorie), Bill (Shirley); her brother-in-law, Carl (Barbara), and sister-in-law, Jean (Paul).

Beatrice was the seventh of eight children born to Ivy and Buff in Erin, Ontario. In 1942, the family moved to Guelph, where Beatrice attended Victory Public School and later Guelph Collegiate Vocational Institute. After graduation, she completed training at Toronto Teachers’ College in 1957 and taught at a primary school in North York. She later worked for many years as a much-loved, live-in support worker for disabled children at a Brampton group home.

Beatrice's talents later turned to catering. For 12 years, she worked in the kitchen at Alpine Ski Club for the food service business owned by her niece, Sheree, and grand-nephew, Jake. On her feet all day working long hours, it was the perfect place for sharing stories and having a laugh.

Over the next six-plus decades, Beatrice dedicated her life to serving the ever-expanding Homer tribe. Need a nanny for the newborn? A babysitter for pre-schoolers? A kitchen or bathroom painted and wallpapered? Cows milked? Hands-on help post-surgery? Beatrice was always there. With humour and hope and instant coffee. Lots of coffee.

A life-long learner, Beatrice encouraged us to question, to explore and to discover joy in all things. Be creative. Use what you have. One boring, hot summer day at the family farm, Beatrice led a craft project for a visiting niece, fashioning an intricate doll house from cigarette packets and match boxes. She also set up a farm library. Hooked on phonics, Beatrice zealously coached generations of nieces and nephews to read. She instilled in us her passion for literature and history, while infusing a new-found confidence. Beatrice believed in our potential to be our best selves. She helped us believe it, too.

Beatrice adored purses—the more compartments the better—almost as much as she loved a good road trip. The longer the better. In any weather. She drove through a hurricane before on-line forecast alerts were a thing. Beatrice logged hundreds of thousands of kilometres on annual pilgrimages to Florida with co-pilots Margaret, Barbara, and Kim. She criss-crossed Canada and explored the U.S., Hawaii, Europe and the Caribbean, often with niece Michelle, and her daughters, Mila and Olivia, creating life-long memories. Born with an uncanny sense of direction, Beatrice deeply distrusted GPSs. Need directions? On a napkin, she would sketch a true-to-scale, back-roads route that rivalled Google maps. Well, no convincing the teacher otherwise.

Beatrice enjoyed many hobbies and interests, including interior decorating, advice-giving and red-wine tasting. But house-hunting was her real passion. For decades, she combed newspaper ads and cruised neighbourhoods in quest of the perfect property—with no intention of ever buying. Beatrice confessed she sometimes peeked in the windows of for-sale houses after dark. There’s that time the family was home…

As Beatrice so often said, “Well, that’s enough about that.” We beg to disagree, dear Aunt Bea. We never got enough of you. But your endless love fills our hearts and always will. By your example, you taught us what matters in life and showed us the path forward. Lord, may we walk in it.

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As Beatrice wished, a graveside service for immediate family only will be held on September 6, 2025 at Erin Cemetery. A celebration of life will take place at a future date.

In Beatrice’s memory, donations may be made to World Vision Canada.

The family extends their gratitude to the ICU staff members at St Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton, especially Dr. Deborah Cook, for their exceptional care of Beatrice and support for her family.