Gillian Dharmaratnam

Gill died peacefully on January 7, 2016 at the age of 80 at The Clarion Nursing Home. Predeceased by Tex/Archibald (2012), her loving husband of 55 years. Much loved Mumsy to Michael (Leanne), Mark, and Anushya (Mike). Very loving Nana to Phyllis, Alexander, Jennifer, Thomas, Peter and Paul. Gill was born in Mumbai, India to British parents in 1935. Fearing the oncoming of WWII her family returned to England in 1938, where they lived in various locations due to her father’s work. For many years Gill had to attend boarding school. She often recollected her experiences of the war years in England, especially the rationing. Gill had very fond memories of her granny’s house in Bedford; eating cabbage leaves with her sister and friends to hide the smell of cigarette smoke on her breath (at age 10!); visits with her favourite aunt, Phyllis; and sitting in the backyard apple tree with a book while refusing to heed her mother’s demand to come down and do some work. At age 14, Gill unhappily immigrated to Australia with her family. There she began her nursing career and decided to immigrate back to England. It was on this return trip that she met her future husband, drawn together by their mutual love of music. They had an extra six weeks to become better acquainted as their ship was forced to sail around the Cape of Good Hope due to the Suez Crisis. Gill and Tex married in England and had their first son before having to return to Tex’s native Sri Lanka. Gill handled the challenge of living in Sri Lanka very well, learning some of the language and developing a lifelong appreciation of the cuisine. After living in Sri Lanka for seven years Gill and Tex wanted a better life for their children, which now included their second son, and in 1965 they decided to immigrate to Canada. (Gill chose Canada over England as it had central heating.) They built a simple, but happy life for their family in Canada which now included their third child, a daughter. Gill excelled in the life of a stay at home mother and some of her talents included knitting, embroidery, sewing (including her daughter’s wedding dress), gardening (for which she won several Trillium Awards), volunteering, music, and making the best chocolate cake on the planet. Although Gill didn’t particularly enjoy cooking, she did enjoy seeing the happy reactions from her children when she made their favourite foods. She also created beautiful needlepoint tapestries and, for a few years, taught the subject at night school. Her needlework skills were well used for many years in helping to make Christmas decorations with the other “Crafty Ladies” for the Japanese Canadian Cultural Institute’s Christmas Bazaar. Gill loved ballroom dancing and for a number of years she and Tex became fixtures at the Leander Boat Club for dances with the Empress Ballroom Dance Club. At times Gill missed her beloved England and enjoyed anything associated with the country. Christmas Day always included the Queen’s Christmas message, pillow cases instead of stockings, Christmas crackers, Quality Street chocolates, carols sung by boys’ choirs, and Christmas pudding. Gill took over from Santa when the children became adults and the pillowcases continued each year until she was no longer able to do so. For the past 21 years she very much enjoyed her role as Nana to her six grandchildren and always looked forward to their visits. A natural shopper, Gill took great pleasure in buying little presents for them and later enjoyed having them accompany her. After Tex’s death Gill struggled with Alzheimer’s disease and eventually had to move into a nursing home in 2014 after a fall at home. Gill and her family would like to thank the staff at the Clarion Nursing Home, as well as the friends and therapists who visited her there. In Gill’s memory, donations to the Alzheimer Society or the Salvation Army would be appreciated by the family. A Memorial Service will be held at Marlatt Funeral Home, 615 Main Street East, Hamilton on Saturday, January 30 at 2:00 PM. Reception to follow. Online condolences may be made at www.marlattfhhamilton.com.