January 18, 2022
Her family and friends mourn the passing of Betty Lou McDowall at the Palliative Care Unit of the West Parry Sound Health Centre on January 18, 2022 in her 91st year.
Born in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan on July 25, 1931, Betty was raised in Boissevain, Manitoba. She earned a Bachelor’s degree at the University of North Dakota and taught at the Kirkland Lake Collegiate and Vocational Institute where she met her future husband William (Bill) James McDowall. The young couple moved to Parry Sound in 1955 and raised their family there. Betty was fiercely proud of her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren, celebrating their successes and staunchly and unfailingly supporting them with love and wisdom in times of need.
Betty leaves her children Jane, Geoffrey (Pauline), Stephen, and Mary (Gerry); her cherished grandchildren Sarah Ashford (George), Carly McDowall, Ceilidh Shipman, Cosette Shipman, Rielle Shipman, and Elizabeth Graf; and her great-grandchildren Pippa and Lena (Lulu) Ashford; along with many friends.
She is predeceased by her husband Bill, her brother Gerald and her sister Diane.
Betty led a remarkable life and leaves a legacy of volunteerism, as well as advocacy in the areas of social justice and disability. She was a fervent and prescient environmentalist. She loved traveling, curling and figure skating – still taking lessons until she was 80. On her 90th birthday she enjoyed a day on the water with her family and a float plane ride over Georgian Bay.
There will be no service at this time. A celebration of her life will be held when circumstances permit.
Thanks are due to the compassionate nurses and doctors who ensured Betty’s comfort in her final days.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in Betty’s name to the Nature Conservancy of Canada, the Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund, the West Parry Sound Health Centre or a charity of your choice.
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Our most sincere sympathies to the family and friends of BETTY McDOWALL January 18 2022..
Death notice for the town of: Parry-Sound, Province: Ontario