Myrna Bernice Ferris was born to Edmund Arthur "Art" Ferris and Lillian Violet Ferris in Guelph on January 20, 1939. She died in her own home in Guelph on February 13, 2018. Myrna is survived by her brother, Norm Ferris, nieces Kelly Perrett (nee Ferris) and Stephanie Ferris, numerous cousins and many friends, including Rosemary Anderson, Jane Crawford and Lyn MacDonald, goddaughters Karen Crawford and Suzy Crawford, as well as Cinnamon, the once feral cat who decided to move in with Myrna after an acquaintanceship of many years.
After graduating from high school, Myrna went to work for the Guelph Mercury. She was there for over 30 years, first as a reporter and assistant women's editor, and later as the wire editor, mainly responsible for the front page. She also filled in as managing editor for 6 months. In 1975, Myrna worked on the committee that organized Guelph events for International Women's Year.
In retirement, Myrna spent years following clues and hunches to research and stitch together histories of the Ferris family, and her mother's family, the Waters. A possibly related hobby was reading mystery novels and she enjoyed making new finds at the annual book sale of The Friends of the Guelph Public Library. She enjoyed local theatre and music productions as well as movies-the last one she saw was The Post, which she said made her proud she'd worked in the newspaper business. She still met for coffee with her John F. Ross graduating class of 1957. A recent highlight for Myrna was attending her niece Kelly's wedding.
Myrna was a woman of integrity, strength and love. If she saw a way to help a friend, or a stray cat-or a whole extended family of stray cats-she took action. And despite her growing frailty, she used every bit of her strength to connect with, and to give, to those around her.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Myrna's name to The Guelph Humane Society or Friends of the Guelph Public Library. A Celebration of Life will be held Friday March 2, 2018 at 2 p.m. at the WALL-CUSTANCE FUNERAL HOME & CHAPEL, 206 Norfolk St., Guelph.