Obituary of Connie Painter

PAINTER, Connie (Constance June Mills) November 8, 1931 -June 25, 2020 Following a fall in her residence in May and subsequent surgery, our tiny perfect aunt passed away peacefully in her sleep at Crown Ridge Long Term Care, Trenton in her 89th year. Connie was born and raised in Toronto, the daughter of William and Margaret (Tompkins) Mills of Gananoque. She attended Central High School of Commerce in Toronto and, following graduation, obtained employment with Consumer's Gas Co.. Connie enjoyed singing in the company choir and often joined in company social activities. She subsequently joined the firm of Ward Mallette Chartered Accountants in 1960 and rose to the position of Office Manager. In 1984, Connie transferred to BDO Ward Mallette, Gananoque, where she remained until retirement in 1988. She made numerous friends throughout her career and maintained those friendships in retirement. Connie loved to cook and often experimented with different cuisines, happily sharing her tasty creations. She travelled frequently in her middle years and enjoyed meeting people in the Caribbean, Hawaii, United States, Scotland, and England, as well as across Canada. She belonged to the Wrigley Bowling League along with numerous family members. Connie had a love for animals, especially dogs, cats and horses, owned two champion German Shepherds in her past, and numerous cats over the years. The family knew a stray cat was always a new friend for Connie. One of her favourite gifts as a teenager was riding gear received from her parents; she often told the story of receiving the gift, and wearing it on her street car ride across Toronto to join her brother and sister-in-law (John and Emily) to ride in the Don Valley. Connie lived a long, full, interesting life, adapting to changes in her life as they crossed her path. Visitors might find her taking a 15-minute nap after dinner, catching up with the news on tv at any time, or reading newspapers with a cold beer at hand to keep up with current events. For the last four years, Crown Ridge Long Term Care at Trenton was her home and provided her with new friends and happy experiences, and renewed her love of music. Connie was predeceased by her third husband Edward Charles (Charlie) Painter (2012), her parents William and Margaret (Tompkins) Mills of Gananoque and Toronto, her sister Norma (Bill) Landry, and brothers Donald (Peggy), Colin, John (Emily) and Bruce (Jo). She is survived by her stepchildren Carolyn Austin, Stephen Painter, and Christine Bebenek, her nieces and nephews Jeannette Burr, Pamela Calver, Beverly Mills, Barry Mills, Ron Landry, and John Mills, and her step-grandchildren and great nieces, great nephews, and many cousins. Many heartfelt thanks to every single staff member at Crown Ridge Long Term Care at Trenton for their consistently friendly, compassionate and loving care provided to Connie. She always conveyed her happiness to us with the quality of care she received. In accordance with Connie's wishes, cremation has taken place. Due to Covid-19 restrictions, family interment will take place at Gananoque Cemetery at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations in Connie's memory to your local Humane Society would be appreciated. We will miss her sweet smile.