Obituary of Janet MacDonald

Sara Janet MacDonald

 (nee Morton)

November 17, 1958 - March 7, 2022

"Heaven's going to be so awesome." Janet was a woman of faith. She was a friend, a teacher, a pianist, a sister, a daughter, a mother, a grandmother and a wife.  

For 35 years, Janet taught English to new Canadians with Durham Continuing Education. She always said she had the best job ever, holding great affection for her students and colleagues over the years. 

Janet was a staunch grammarian and loved playing Scrabble with her family. She enjoyed her evenings and weekends with her breakfast club, book club, choirs and church family. Forever a hostess, Janet entertained her friends and family for any occasion.

Born in Truro, Nova Scotia to Bill and Greta Morton, Janet grew up with her younger sister Susan in Montreal and Moncton. After finishing school at Dalhousie University, she taught at a school in rural Nigeria for two years before returning to New Brunswick where she met and married her husband Keith.

Janet and Keith eventually moved to Oshawa, Ontario, where they raised four children together. After a nine-year battle with breast cancer, Janet passed away peacefully in her home, surrounded by family, on March 7, 2022 at the age of 63.

Janet leaves behind her husband Keith MacDonald; four children, Lindsay (Brian), Alex, Heather and Andrew; two grandchildren, Cadence and Cormack; mother Greta Morton and sister, Susan Morton. Janet is predeceased by her father, Bill Morton; mother-in-law and father-in-law, Eileen and Eddie MacDonald.

The family thanks Dr. Shim and the whole oncology team (doctors, nurses, surgeons and personal support workers) at Lakeridge Hospital’s Cancer Centre who have taken great care of Janet throughout the years.

In Janet's final days, she reassured her family that everything was going to be ok and told them to enjoy life.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Janet's honour to :

Lakeridge Health Foundation at https://ourcancer.ca/

The Red Cross at https://www.redcross.ca/donate

On Saturday, March 12, Harmony Road Baptist Church will host a visitation at 12-2 p.m. and a service at 2 p.m.

To view the service virtually, please use the following link:

https://youtu.be/YO4IbihkExw