Browse the obituary of residing in the province of Nova Scotia for funeral details
Obituary of Mary Carolyn Gillis Grenier
Please share a memory of Mary to include in a keepsake book for family and friends.
View Tribute Book
Mary Carolyn “Lynn” Gillis Grenier
June 11, 1944 – April 17, 2023
It is with great sadness that we announce the peaceful passing, of Mary Carolyn Gillis Grenier; that occurred in the early hours of Monday April 17, 2023 at her home in the Richmond Villa located in St. Peter’s, Nova Scotia.
Born in Glace Bay, Nova Scotia, she was a daughter of the late John Francis Gillis and the late Ida Gallant Gillis.
Lynn spent her formative years in Glace Bay where she enjoyed skating at the local rink, singing in the choir with her sisters, at St. Anthony’s Parish, delivering newspapers with her brother, learning to bake and sew, and being a Girl Guide. While she was a Girl Guide she had the honor of giving a bouquet of flowers to Queen Elizabeth while visiting Nova Scotia, and loved Guiding so much stayed with it to become a leader.
After completing grade 11 she starting Nursing School, but quickly determined it was not her calling, leaving before graduation. She spent some time contemplating her next move; and decided to move to Ontario to be with her newly married sister. She got a job working in a dry cleaner, and within a year she was missing home and moved back to Glace Bay.
It was at this time that she met the love of her life Michel. They married a short time later. Moving around for work purposes they finally settled in Seaview St. Peter’s where they raised four children, spanning over 54 years until Michel’s death this past July.
Coming from a musical background she spent countless hours learning and enjoying playing guitar, and the organ. She could learn any song because she could read music and she could sing like an angel. She learned different songs; everything from hymns, Scottish tunes, rock, and her favorite country. She played in a band for five years with her sister and brother in law called “One of a Kind” where they were booked from one end of the year to the next playing local communities around Port Hawkesbury. Then later she played in a Celtic band in St. Peter’s with some local musicians where they played for benefits and dances. Music was a big part of her life, when she wasn’t playing in a band, she was sitting around a campfire with her children or sitting around enjoying “house parties” with her friends and family. When she retired, she joined the Church Choir in River Bourgeois playing and singing every Saturday Mass, until she was no longer able to play her guitar due to arthritis.
Her love of Education was always in the back of her mind, and at the age of 46 she went back to “high school” going on the school bus with her children. She graduated from Saint Peter’s District High in St. Peter’s and went on to obtain her Bachelor of Arts at Saint Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia where she was on the “Dean’s list” every single year. A few years later decided she wanted to learn carpentry and went to Nova Scotia Community College Strait Campus for two years becoming a carpenter.
Lynn was talented in so many ways, excellent baker, cook, gardener, seamstress, the list is endless. She was also a lover of animals but her love of cats was well known in the community.
She is survived by her four children, Michelyn Port Hawkesbury; Nadia Pottie (Vince), Port Hawkesbury; Dominic, Port Hawkesbury; and Audrey Williams (Simon), Truro. She is also survived by her brothers, Aubrey Gillis, Reserve Mines, Glace Bay; Agnes Gillis, Sydney; sisters, Elaine Tighe, New Waterford; and Genevieve Boudreau, Janvrin’s Island. She is also survived by her mother in-law, Therese Constantineau Grenier, St. Peter’s; 9 Grandchildren, 3 Great-Grandchildren, many nieces, nephews, cousins, and in laws, too many to name.
Predeceased, are her father, John Francis Gillis, her mother, Ida Gallant Gillis; her son, Pascal, her daughter Solange both in infancy; her brothers, Adrian, Earl, and Raymond Gillis, and sister, Anne Burns.
A special thank you to the staff at Richmond Villa for the phenomenal care she received there and to St. Martha’s Hospital where she spent several months before her placement at the Villa.
Cremation has taken place there will be no visitation. The service will be held at St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church, Port Hawkesbury, with Deacon Berkley Guthro on Friday, April 21, 2023 at 10 a.m., with a reception downstairs to follow. Burial to take place at a later date. Memorial donations can be made to the Kidney Foundation of Nova Scotia.
Arrangements are under the direction of Dennis Haverstock Funeral Home, Port Hawkesbury. Words of comfort may be forwarded to the family at: www.haverstocks.com
To plant a beautiful memorial tree in memory of Mary Gillis Grenier, please visit our Tree Store
2023
Dennis Haverstocks funeral homes
Death notice for the town of: Port-Hawkesbury, Province: Nova Scotia
death notice Mary Carolyn Gillis Grenier 2023
obituaries notice Mary Carolyn Gillis Grenier 2023
We offer our deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Mary Carolyn Gillis Grenier 2023 and hope that their memory may be a source of comfort during this difficult time. Your thoughts and kind words are greatly appreciated.