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Obituary
Claire Olive McNeill
February 3, 1925 – June 8, 2023
At 98 years young, Mom’s heart finally said it was time to leave this earth and join her beloved husband Jim in what we are sure is a heavenly home.
Born and raised in Margaree Valley, Nova Scotia, she attended business college in Halifax. While there she met the love of her life, Private James McNeill at an Army Navy dance. They were married December 1st, 1945 and began their love of life together.
With Dad in the military, they lived in several cities and towns – from Halifax, Dartmouth, Camp Borden, Washington, Almonte, Kingston, Appleton to Carleton Place. Some places were more productive than others and by the time they settled in Carleton Place, they had been blessed with ten children! Not being busy enough raising ten kids, mom decided she would open her own flower shop and greenhouse. She was a bit of a pioneer of the “Work from home” philosophy. Although flowers were an enjoyable part of mom’s life, her true passion was always her family.
When asked about how she wanted to raise a family, she said her goal was to raise “Good Citizens.” She felt that encompassed so much: being honest, trustworthy, kind, respectful, accountable and of course to have a love and appreciation of the place you live and to be proud of Canada. She and dad truly adored Canada.
Mom was frankly an exceptional woman and mother. She led by example: always humble about her intelligence; graciously kind and generous; loving with no conditions; and, she had an unshakable faith in God and humanity. But even with all of these amazing traits, the thing she taught each of us was to have a deep appreciation of humour.
She taught us to never underestimate the power that laughter possesses. Whether it was playing games or cards with family and friends, tea at any time of the day – there was ALWAYS laughter. In prosperous times – laughs of joy accompanied with reminders of what was actually important in life. In dark times – laughter could be heard to lift the heaviness and bring light back into focus. In times of sorrow – she could turn sad tears into tears of laughter. This was her gift. Her gift to us. Her gift to all who know and love her.
To anyone reading this, we hope you smile when you think of Claire McNeill. She would like that and she will be looking down smiling along with you – and she likely will include her sweet contagious giggle to go along with it.
Dearest mom – you were responsible for bringing into this world 10 children: Jean (Jim Fraser), Judy (Richard Turner), Jim (Bev), Claire (Joe Uhlig), Wendy (Peter Bolton), Linda (Paul O’Reilly), Kevin (Debbie), Patrick (Raymond), Joe (Cheryl), and Margaret (Wes Mitchell). 20 grand children and 26 great grand babies. We will make you proud and continue to be and raise ‘good citizens’ in your honour. We will spread joy and laughter at every chance. Please give our love to Dad, Judy, Claire, Elgin and all of your friends and family who have been patiently waiting to be reunited with you in heaven. We know there is a beautiful place reserved just for you. Thank you for everything. We will miss you terribly. Until we meet again. xoxo
In keeping with Mom’s wishes, there will be visitation at the Alan R. Barker Funeral Home, 19 McArthur Avenue, Carleton Place, ON – Wednesday, June 14, 2-4 p.m. and 6-8 p.m. A Catholic mass at St. Mary’s Church, 28 Hawthorne Avenue, Carleton Place, ON – Thursday, June 15, 11 a.m. followed by a lite luncheon in the church hall. A private family service at Beechwood Cemetery will follow.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the staff and recreation department of the New Orchard Lodge, 99 New Orchard Avenue, Ottawa, ON. We would like to thank the incredible staff for their unwavering kindness, care and compassion.
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June 8 2023
Death notice for the town of: Carleton-Place, Province: Ontario
death notice Claire McNeill June 8 2023
obituaries notice Claire McNeill June 8 2023
We offer our deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Claire McNeill June 8 2023 and hope that their memory may be a source of comfort during this difficult time. Your thoughts and kind words are greatly appreciated.