Obituary of Eleanor Terrill

(nee Ransberry)

Passed away peacefully at Northumberland Hills Hospital on Thursday November 15, 2018, just one month after her beloved Clifford.

Beloved wife of 73 years to the late Clifford.  Loving mother of Louise (David) Wilson, Donna Terrill (Gary Musil), Brenda (Keith) Andre and Jay Terrill (Patti McDougall).  Cherished grandma of Jeff, David, Robin, Joel, Cindy, Kyle, Cavan and Gregor.  Great-grandma of Mitchell, Abigail, River, Wren, Brayden, Eli, Finn and Tessa and great-great-grandma of Jessica. There are many step-grandchildren that will also miss their grandma.   She is survived by her sister Norma (Harold) Forder.

Visitation will be held at NORTHCUTT ELLIOTT FUNERAL HOME, 53 Division St., Bowmanville, on Wednesday November 21st from 9 – 11 am, a Funeral Service will follow in the Chapel at 11 am. Interment Orono Cemetery.  Memorial donations may be made to Orono United Church, St. Paul’s United Church or The Orono Horticultural Society. 

Eleanor grew up with a dozen siblings on the Ransberry farm near Kendal. She was no stranger to hard work and stretching a meal. She and her siblings attended the one- room Enterprise Elementary school. In 1940 Eleanor left high school in Orono to work for Defence Industries Limited in Ajax. In 2012 she was honoured along with other ‘Bomb Girls’ for her contribution to the war effort.

After she and Cliff were married in the post D-Day marriage blitz of 1945 she buckled down to the task of caring for her family and became a master of the homemaking arts, developing her talents in sewing, quilting, baking, preserving and her specialty – gardening. Active in the Orono Horticultural Society she loved to put her green thumb to work by entering her creations in the Orono Fair. Eleanor was always eager to share her garden’s bounty with family and friends and taught her children the finer points of weeding.

Her community contribution was not limited to the church choir and her long time membership in the United Church Women. She and Cliff became regular visitors to various friends and family members living in care homes, no doubt with some of her home-grown blooms in tow.

Above all else Eleanor loved to laugh and have fun. Whether it was around the quilting frame or the euchre table a good laugh always made the visit better. She will be loved and remembered for her kind ways and a sparkle in her eye.