Elda Portt passed away at her home in Guelph, Ontario, on January 14, 2023, in her 102nd year. She was predeceased by her parents, Frances (née Calvert) and Thomas McMullen, her husband Bruce Portt, and her sisters Lauretta Preston and Blanche Reid. Elda is survived by her children Betty Ann Colquhoun and Cameron Portt (Rena Burkholder), her grandchildren Heather Colquhoun (Mark Perkins), Allan Colquhoun (Cachelle Fry), Michael Portt (Laura Carlson) and Andrea Portt, and great-grandchildren Sophie Perkins, Halston, Harlow, Hazel and Hyla Colquhoun, and Lawrence Portt. She is also survived by her nieces and nephews Diane Kennedy, Gary Preston, Linda Muir, June Dafoe, and Burton Reid and predeceased by her nephew Clarke Preston.
Elda was a gentle, loving, supportive mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, who took great pleasure in following everyone’s interests, travels, and accomplishments. Her embrace of technology in order to maintain contact with her family and friends earned her the nickname Cyber-Grandma.
Elda was born on June 15, 1921, and raised in Rawdon Township, Ontario. After completing elementary school, she worked on her family’s farm and at her parents’ butcher shop in Belleville, where she met her future husband, Bruce Portt. She and Bruce were married in 1943 and lived and raised their family on the Portt farm on the first concession of Tyendinaga Township. Later in life, they moved to Belleville where they resided until Bruce’s death. Elda then moved to Guelph to be closer to her children. Elda thoroughly enjoyed living at The Ellington, where she met new friends, participated in creative writing and art classes, and looked forward to each monthly dinner and dance. Although declining health and COVID - which she referred to as “a nuisance”- reduced her opportunity for activities in recent years, Elda remained positive with her sense of humour intact.
Her family thanks the staff at the Elliott Community for the happy, caring, living environment that they provide. Elda was very appreciative, as are we. Special thanks to the Ellington and Guelph Wellington Homecare staff who provided such compassionate care during the last weeks of Elda’s life.
Cremation has taken place. A memorial service will be held in Belleville on April 29, 2023. Those who wish to do so are invited to donate, in Elda’s memory, to the not-for-profit Elliott Community (https://www.elliottcommunity.org/giving)
Arrangements entrusted to the Burke Funeral Home (613-968-6968), 150 Church Street, Belleville. Online condolences can be made at www.burkefuneral.ca