Name: Giffen-Mack Funeral Home & Cremation Centre
Address: Toronto, ON

I am deeply saddened to hear the passing of Dr. Marilyn Sonley.

I am a former patient of Dr. Sonley as a very young child and was treated by her at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, ON Canada.

Dr. Sonley always had huge caseloads despite the long wait times at the Hematology Clinic but always worth the wait as she treated each and every patient like myself with respect, kindness, humility, and most of all love.  I felt very special when seen by her and nurse Marilyn Cassidy and the rest of the Hematology Clinic team and felt that time stood still.  In the face of adversity and challenges, you brought hope and joy to all you came across.
  
Your smile was a reassurance that everything will be okay.

I will never forget you for being a great role model as your humility stuck with me to this very day and as a result, I became a much person today.

As tears flow , I am reminded that I was a very blessed child to be seen and treated by an outstanding doctor who really loved and cared for me and many others.

Dr. Sonley, you will always be missed, cherished, loved and remembered. 

Victor Lee


Marilyn was a wonderful neighbor of ours for over 20 years....here in cabbagetown, Toronto .....we had many a laugh and she shared many a story concerning her incredible life....
We had many dinners together ...took her to some wonderful concerts...and shared time with her up at her cottage. She had countless stories about her life...early years in the U.S......even stumbling upon a Judy Garland concert at the Hollywood Bowl in the early sixties...to retirement years...I always tried to keep in touch with a call to say "hi"......All our love to you.....Marilyn .....love James and Barry...your next door neighbor and friend.

I was so very sorry to receive the news of Mariyn's passing.    I am a very long-time close summer friend of Marilyn’s.  When we were young, we enjoyed playing tennis together with others at Long Point every weekday.  When our playing days were over, we  visited at each other's cottage or by the gardens  three times a week  and had great chats.   In later years, we played bridge against each other in an organized group.  Marilyn was a lovely, kind, humble, and highly accomplished woman whom I am grateful to have known.   May her memory be a source of joy and pride to her family and everyone who knew her.   A donation has been made in Dr. Sonley's memory to the SickKids Foundation directed to Oncology.   My sincere condolences, Eleanor Kerr

I am a resident at 757 Vic Park where I met Marilyn when she first moved here to join her sister Betty who I've been acquainted with in my many years here. 
It was a great pleasure to even have known Marilyn just to say hello  and chat briefly.. She was obviously a very interesting and  brilliant person.

I send sincere condolences to all her remaining family. I am sure she will be very much missed. 

I only met Marilyn when she moved into my building a couple of years ago.  It was a pleasure to know her and I always enjoyed our conversations. I was so sorry to hear of her passing.  My sincere condolences to her family, especially her sister, Betty Price.

I was so very fortunate to work with Dr Sonley as her clinic nurse at Sick Kids for a number of years, until she retired. I will always remember her wonderful relationships with our patients combined with her wealth of oncology experience - she taught me so much but most especially the importance of knowing the little details about each patient and their family as we cared for them during their cancer journey. I was  privileged to have had the opportunity to enjoy her wonderful sense of humour, her compassion, her humility and of course her love of cats. 
What a legacy.
My most sincere condolences to the Sonley family.
Marilyn Cassidy

For many years at Long Point, we shared happy times with Marilyn. There were the tennis tournaments, regattas, dinners and many long conversations. When we called her for advice, she was always available and very helpful. Marilyn also made a huge difference in the life of a very close friend and student of mine. At Sick Children’s Hospital and PMH Karen was one of her patients. Her family were forever grateful for the good years that Marilyn was able to add to Karen’s life.
Our condolences to all the family:
Carol & Gord Epp

Marilyn, we have known each other since we were teenagers hanging out at Balsam Lake and Long Point. But I think we didn’t become really close friends till we were in our 70s. We walked the Point  together, played bridge together and you were a regular visitor, arriving at the cottage  with your bicycle for long chats with the family.  What stands out was your incredible word skill playing scrabble.  No one knew as many words beginning with the letter Q as you did !  I’ll miss you. 

I too was a patient of Dr. Sonley’s from the early days. After Wilm’s tumour took a kidney in 1968 I was delivered into her care at the old Princess Margaret Hospital on Sherbourne St. The Wilm’s tumours returned twice in the early 70’s and I am confident that I would not have celebrated my 59th birthday recently without the care of Dr. Sonley.
A fond memory is of Dr. Sonley leading a group of  doctors into my room on rounds, being all very business like with them and on the way out grabbing my toes and giving them a shake with a wink. This happened often and reflects her personal touch with her patients. 
She was beyond wonderful.

Dear family of Dr Sonley,
I am just one of the many patients that Doctor Sonley helped over the years.  She coordinated my post-operative oncology treatment at Princess Margaret.  I saw her every check-up from 1971 onward and then again would run into her at Long Point as a family friend had a cottage there.  I am sure it is no understatement to say that I owe the quality of life I have to her.  When she was promoted, I refused to see her replacement because he was a man.  In my 10 year old brain, cancer doctors were women!  I'm sure she got a kick out of that.  Please accept my condolences and prayers.

Dr. Sonley saved my son Pete's life. In 1967 he was diagnosed with Wilm's tumor in both kidneys and the lungs.  With the special care and treatment prescribed for him by Dr. Sonley, he celebrated his 57th birthday in May of this year. Sincere thanks to this wonderful woman.

Marilyn, I always looked forward to visiting you when I made my treks home to Balsam Lake. Such a bright and enquiring mind. I remember meeting you at Sick Kids during my nursing school rotation there ( many years ago now). My instructor was flabbergasted I knew you! You were held in such high esteem! We will all miss you!

My condolences to the family of Dr Marilyn Sonley, my favorite teacher & mentor who both taught me life lessons & how to best help children with cancer & their families.

Marilyn taught me many things, both when I was her fellow and then when I was her colleague. She taught me a lot of oncology, but primarily she taught me how to listen to families and children and really hear and care about what they said and to understand the context in which cancer occurred. That made me a better oncologist - and the tribute to her are the myriad of middle aged survivors who remember her so vividly and personally

My life intersected with Dr Sonley 43 years ago. From infancy to age 15, she was a constant in my life. What I remember most from those years was her kindness, and her ability to make me feel like I was the most important person to her in that moment, even though I know there were so many others who needed her attention. She had an ability to be straight forward and honest on clinical matters, but balance that with a genuine caring of who I was as a person. Many of my scariest moments in childhood came under her care, but she was always there, calm and steady. She took my 5% chance of survival and made it reality. Every year of my life, every adventure, every success, my kids, my every day - is all thanks to her. The impact she made on my generation of childhood cancer survivors will always be remembered. Thank you, you will be so missed, and always remembered. 

OBITUARY

Dr. Marilyn Jeanne Sonley

30 May, 1931 – 9 July, 2021

Giffen-Mack and Trull Funeral Home

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