Yvonne Madeline Tomlinson

TOMLINSON, Yvonne – Age 89, passed away after a short illness at the Hants Community Hospital, in Windsor, N.S., on September 2, 2016. She was born in Cap-de-la-Madeleine, Québec, in 1927, the daughter of Gerard & Eva (née Forest) Chiasson, and the eighth of their ten children. From the Magdalen Islands, Yvonne’s family moved first to Trois-Rivières, Québec, and then, when she was five years old, to Halifax, where she grew up and was educated at St. Mary’s Girls’ School and St. Patrick’s High School.

In her early adult years she was employed by Maritime Telephone and Telegraph Company (MT&T), and later, the Department of National Defense, Revenue Canada, and the Public Service Commission of Canada, all in various clerical capacities.

She met Gordon, her loving husband of more than fifty years, in 1956, on a date arranged by a mutual friend. They were married the following year at St. Mary’s Basilica in Halifax, and honeymooned in New York City. Their only child, Steven, was born in 1962. From Halifax, they moved to Québec, in 1966, to follow Gordon’s naval career, and then back to Nova Scotia, in 1969. With the exception of a year spent in Montréal—and much travel with Gordon in Ontario, California, Florida, Mexico and Europe—she lived in Dartmouth, N.S. for the next forty years of her life. In 2012, she moved into the Berkeley Retirement Residence on Green Street in Halifax, before leaving, in 2015, for The Sagewood Continuing Care Community, in Lower Sackville, N.S.

A strong, principled, generous and deeply-loving woman, Yvonne will be sadly missed by all who knew her. Yvonne most enjoyed the company of Gordon [who passed away in 2015], her large extended family and many friends. She is survived by her devoted son Steven, of Montréal, her brother Norman [Margaret], of St. John’s, NFLD, and sisters Rita Theriault, of Halifax, and Alice Sampson [Sammy], of Cole Harbour, N.S., as well as by many nieces and nephews. Yvonne is predeceased by seven brothers and sisters. The family would like to thank the residents and staff of The Sagewood, especially those most closely associated with her care on Apple Blossom cottage. The funeral service will be held at St. Mary’s Basilica, on Spring Garden Rd., in Halifax at 10 a.m. on September 9, 2016 Following the service, burial will be in the Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Lower Sackville, N.S.

For online condolences please visit: www.jasnowfuneralhome.com