Fredena Delcia Youngs

More importantly she was a wife, a devoted mother to her four children, a beloved and cherished grandmother to nine grandchildren, and a great grandmother to two more.

Fredena died Friday evening at Hillsdale Estates long-term care home in Oshawa. It was the last step in a journey that started in 1924 in Collingwood when she was the first daughter born to Frederick and Edith Ridgway who had emigrated from England.

During the Great Depression the family moved to Niagara Falls. It was there, while working at National Grocers, that she met the boss’s son Gerald, who would become her husband. They were married in August, 1945, and shortly after moved to Hamilton where they started (and finished) their family - Fred, Elena, Roberta and Cameron.

She was devoted to her children at home, and when women started to take an active role in the workforce she began working outside the house. As it was for many couples, it was a not insignificant adjustment for Fredena and Gerald. But she thrived in the workplace.

When the family moved to Kitchener in 1970 she became one of the office staff at Forest Heights Collegiate Institute. She was a sympathetic, friendly listener for hundreds of teenagers, and for years afterwards former students would approach her, exclaiming “Mrs. Youngs, is that you …”

After retirement Fredena became a busy volunteer. She was a member of the United Church and was always an involved member of the UCW. She started working with other organizations including In From The Cold and the Canadian Cancer Society; as a teaching assistant at schools for students with special needs; and as a member of a female clown troupe that visited hospitals.

Gerald died in 1995. He remained the love of her life until her final days. She later found a new companion in Emerson MacMillan. They traveled and kept each other company until he died in 2010.

In her final years, Fredena moved to Bowmanville Creek Retirement Home.

She is survived by her son Fred and his wife Janet; daughters Elena Simington and Roberta Ransom and her husband Rev. Bryan Ransom; and son Cameron and his wife Lisa; sister Eva and brother Tom and his wife Isabelle. She was predeceased by her brother Frederick Ansley. She was grandmother to Kyle, Muriel and Nathan Youngs; Emrys Horton; Isaac, Natasha and Lael Ransom; Keegan and Kailee Youngs; and great grandmother to Zoey and Luke Beatty.

Fredena’s funeral is Friday, Sept. 27 at 11 a.m. at Westmount Memorial Celebration Centre at 1001 Ottawa Street S. in Kitchener. Interment to follow at Williamsburg Cemetery. Visitation is from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 26 and from 9:30 am to 11:00 am on Friday at the funeral home. In lieu of flowers the family suggests donations to the Alzheimer Society of Canada or the Canadian Cancer Society.