Category: Birth and Death Notices

Notices of births and deaths, obituaries and similar items about people in our neighbourhood.

Kot Family Memorial Bench

Memorial Bench Installed on Pontiac Street to Remember Longtime Residents of Cowley Avenue, Steve and Kay Kot

[New Bench on Pontiac Street at Mini-Forest]

If you are walking or biking along the unpaved section of Pontiac Street between Cowley Ave. and Carleton Ave. you will see that the City has installed a new bench facing Champlain Park. The following reflection on the history of her parents and of growing up across the street from Champlain Park during the 1960’s and 1970’s was contributed by Mary Ellen Kot:

[Kot Mom and Dad]
Dad and Mom.

The Kot family, (Mary Ellen, Kathleen, Patricia, Theresa, James and Stephen) is happy to donate a bench to the Champlain Park Community, in memory of our parents, Kay and Steve Kot. Mom (Kathleen Bull) spent all her life (1927-2020) in the west end of Ottawa. She lived at 45 Barrington (later re-named 311 Spencer St.), with her mother and brothers. Dad was from a farming family in Saskatchewan. He came to Ottawa in 1948 to work for the Patent Office of the federal government. His first office was in the Langevin Building where he enjoyed a view of the Parliament buildings. After they married in 1952, Dad joined Mom’s family on Spencer St.
Continue reading “Kot Family Memorial Bench” →

Amy (Kempster) Steele Life Celebration – May 20

A Celebration of Life for Amy (Steele) Kempster will take place at 11:00 am Friday, May 20 at Hulse, Playfair, & McGarry, Central Chapel, 315 McLeod St.

Followed by a reception. About 1:30 pm family and friends will leave for the Auld KirK Cemetery in Almonte.

Visitation from 6-8pm, Thursday, May 19. A notice will appear in the Citizen on Saturday.

https://ottawacitizen.remembering.ca/obituary/amy-steele-1085186955

There will be live-streaming which is accessed by going to the Hulse Playfair & McGarry website. https://www.hpmcgarry.ca/

Thanks,

Linda

Also see https://www.hpmcgarry.ca/memorials/amy-steele/4830435/index.php and our own https://champlainpark.org/2022/01/18/the-passing-of-amy-steele-kempster/

The Passing of Amy Steele (Kempster)

On the night of January 16, Amy Steele (Kempster) passed away at the Colonel By Retirement Home, where she had been residing since mid-2021. Amy, who lived at 118 Clearview Ave. for many years, had been a stalwart leader, whose goal was to help (frequently nudge in the right direction!) Champlain Park and all of Ottawa to become the best places to make a home. During her long lifetime of community engagement, her volunteer positions included President of the CPCA, Co-president of the FCA, and Co-chair of the Greenspace Alliance. Among her many awards were the Mayor’s Award for Volunteer Service in 1999 and the 2014 Lifetime Achievement award from the FCA. In 2014 the CPCA presented Amy with an Award for her 30 years of volunteer service with our community. The Amy’s corner web page is here: https://champlainpark.org/amys-corner/

Amy has always been an inspiration and a passionate defender of neighbourhoods and the environment.

Amy touched many lives. We will miss her.

[Amy Steel (Kempster) in 2012]

The Passing of John Holliday

From: Laurie Fagan
Date: October 15, 2020 at 4:34 PM

John Holliday a longtime resident of Champlain Park passed away on October 11 just shy of his 98th birthday. Jack as he preferred to be called lived at 198 Keyworth Avenue in a small white bungalow where he and his wife Winnifred raised 5 children. They were married for 75 years before Winnifred passed away almost a year ago. They lived their entire married life in the house on Keyworth Ave. After her death Jack went to live in a retirement home. He was according to his obituary a “bomb aimer” with the RAF Bomber Command out of England during the war and worked in the federal government when he returned to Canada.

But Jack’s real passion was the natural world, especially gardening. His front apple tree had several bird feeders and clumps of seed studded suet. In his garage he raised several types of moths and butterflies. He one day invited me over to see a Cecropia moth, North America’s largest native variety. It had a wingspan of about five inches. It was incredible if not a bit creepy since I had recently seen the movie Silence of the Lambs.

His side garden was ablaze with bright orange and yellow poppies every year but it was his backyard garden that was his real pride and joy. I live behind his home and Jack and I would swap flower and gardening tips quite often on spring and summer days. He had a giant patch of indigo blue delphiniums one year that was so tall that if you closed your eyes for a moment you felt like you were in an English garden. Another year he had about a dozen Asiatic Lillies (Casa Blanca) with a mass of trumpet white flowers almost 6 feet tall. As I sat in the backyard near dusk with a glass of wine the beautiful scent wafted my way. Jack shared his garden with neighbours, especially children as he often left free pots of Johnny Jump Ups and other perennials at the end of his driveway – usually on Mother’s Day.

This summer as his family prepared the house for selling, his son John very kindly gave me a clump of Jack’s irises that I will treasure in my garden and think of that lovely, gentle man.


A more formal obituary is at https://ottawacitizen.remembering.ca/obituary/john-holliday-1080426016

Passing of Len de Carle

Subject: Passing of Len de Carle
Date: Sun, 9 Aug 2020 08:13:16 -0400
From: John de Carle

Just wanted to let the community know that my father, Len de Carle, passed away on Thursday.

He (and my mother) were long-time residents of the Community and lived most of their adult lives on 66 Pontiac St.

Regards,
John de Carle….

Marcella Winship Obituary

Kelly passes on this obituary:

Marcella Winship, a longtime resident of Clearview Avenue (near the corner of Patricia), has died in Magog, Que., at the age of 84. She is remembered fondly by neighbours as a kind, thoughtful person who was very engaged in community life, just as she was proudly enthusiastic to be Canadian. Condolences to her husband David and three children and good friend Amy (Steele) Kempster. Please see the attached notice on ottawacitizen.com. The service is Saturday, with visitation on Friday.

https://ottawacitizen.remembering.ca/obituary/marcella-winship-1078175979