Emily Katherine Aird

Emily died at Hamilton’s St. Joseph’s hospital on January 24, 2023, after enduring a series of progressively difficult medical conditions. She was 37 years old. Emily had a smile and an infectious giggle that made everyone around her laugh too. She will be missed terribly by her parents, Stuart Aird and Laura Ramsay, her brothers Samuel and Neil, and her Rygiel ‘mothers’ – Annie, Esperanza, Faridah, Joice, Lhovlie and Luigina.

She enjoyed family gatherings with her aunts and uncles (Scott & Brenda Aird; Maureen & Angus McIlwraith, Joan & Andy Murie); cousins (Jenn & Colin Aird; Jack & Morgan McIlwraith, Alex & Stacey Murie) and grandparents Ron & Ruth Ramsay.

Emily was a graduate of Glenwood School. She had many friends at the CHOICES Mohawk Day Program she attended until health problems prevented her participation. She enjoyed the sounds of the noisy hockey arenas where her brothers played; visiting the butterfly conservatory; being pushed on rides over bumpy sidewalks and listening to noisy birds. She attended Easter Seals camps; travelled with her family to Disney World (twice) and had holidays at Sparrow Lake and Mt. Tremblant with an extended group of families who loved her.

Emily and her family are blessed to have been supported by an array of skilled, compassionate workers, teachers, and medical professionals over the course of her life. There are far too many to mention individually, but they included Jenny McEwen-Hill; Deanna Worne; the late pediatrician Dr. Bill Wilson, Dr. Ed Matsumoto and Dr. Brenda Copps.

A Celebration of Life for Emily will be held this spring. If interested in making a donation in Emily’s memory, please consider Rygiel Supports for Community Living or CHOICES Association Inc.