It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of Elizabeth Poisson at Guelph General Hospital December 10th, 2021, her 94th birthday, of complications due to Covid-19. From a family of twelve children, she is predeceased by her mother Elizabeth Grenier (née LeBlanc) and father, Joseph Grenier, sisters Margaret, Doris, Rita and Annita, brothers George and Donald, as well her loving husband of 64 years, Marcel. Survived by her sisters Anna (Vern), Dianne, and Carroll (Judith) and brothers William (Carol) and Patrick. Loving mother to four children, she leaves behind Ernest (Suzanne), Patrick (Linda), Gail Elizabeth (David) and Robert (Jacqueline). She was grandmother to nine, including Matthew (Amber), John (Aimee), Corinne (Tim), Edward (Grace), Daniel (Brynne), Nicholas (Merideth), Gregory, Elizabeth and Emily, and great grandmother to nine, including Jack, Nathan, Isla, Emma, Darcy, Nora, Lucas, Thomas and Mila.
Born and raised in Kirkland Lake, she married Marcel in 1948 and lived for a brief period in Val D’Or, before returning to Kirkland Lake and then moving to Toronto in 1954. The family returned to northern Ontario in 1969, settling in North Bay where Elizabeth and Marcel continued to reside until Marcel’s passing in 2013. Elizabeth moved to Guelph in 2017 to be closer to her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.
Elizabeth was both a career woman and a loving mother at a time when this was not common. She began working for Doherty Roadhouse stockbrokers in Kirkland Lake at 16 and continued to work for the firm and its various successors for 50 years both in Toronto and later in North Bay, receiving accolades for her continuous commitment to the company. However, this paled in comparison to her lifelong devotion to her children, grandchildren and, most recently, her great grandchildren. Her home in North Bay became a magnet for her grown children and grandchildren who came up north for family get togethers, allowing the cousins to enjoy their extended family. Even in her last years, Mum’s/Grandma’s apartment in Guelph became a focal point for holiday celebrations, impromptu visits, and the occasional Euchre tournament.
A breast cancer survivor and sufferer of macular degeneration, Elizabeth was legally blind in her later years, but still managed to get about on her own until only recently, when spinal stenosis took hold and made it more difficult. With the help of the wonderful PSWs from Closing the Gap, and assistance from her family, she was able to continue to stay in her apartment until catching Covid in early December. Many thanks to those who helped her in her final years. Like her own mother, those whom she touched thought she would go on forever.
Per her wishes, Elizabeth has been cremated and her ashes will be placed alongside Marcel’s at Woodlawn Cemetery in Guelph in the Spring. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in her name to the Canadian Cancer Society.