Obituary of Mavis Jeffries

Jeffries, Mavis (O’Malley)

June 5, 1933 – July 17, 2022

 

Our Mother, Mavis Alma Jeffries (O'Malley) passed away in her sleep on the morning of Sunday 17 July, 2022 in her 90th year at Carveth Care Centre in Gananoque.

 

Two very special people in her life preceded Mom’s passing; her loving husband of 55 years, Louis Paul (2006), and her eldest grandson Ryan Mangan (2002). Mom was also predeceased by her parents, Helen and Hugh O'Malley and her sisters Iris Shultz, Doris Lunman (Gordon) and Lois Dwyre (Leo).

 

Mom is survived by those she loved so dearly; 4 children, 6 grandchildren, and 4 great grandchildren: Len Jeffries (Cindy) and children Tim and his daughter Cedar; Katie and her children Rowen and Evelyn Gleeson; Joanne Forsythe (Joe) and son Jamie; Douglas Jeffries (Carole) and children Kelsey, Sean, and Michael (Katie) and their daughter Olivia; Sherrilyn Mangan (Michael) and son Ryan in spirit. Mom will be fondly remembered by many nieces and nephews, extended family and friends.

  
It was our mother’s express wish to forgo a public visitation and funeral. We hope that family and friends will celebrate her life in their own way and in their own time.   Cremation has taken place and the family will have a private interment at a later date where she will join her husband Lou at the Union cemetery outside Lansdowne.

 

We would be remiss if we did not mention the wonderful day our mother experienced at our brother Doug's retirement party in June 2022.  It was Moms only public engagement since the beginning of the pandemic and to put it in her words, she “had a marvelous day”.  She described it as "Old Home Week" and felt like the party was for her.  We would like to thank everyone who took the time to chat with our mother that day as it made her feel so proud and very special.  

 

The picture of Mom was taken by the Carveth Care Activation Team for Mothers Day 2022.  Our family is sincerely grateful to this team for making sure Mom was included in their entertainment and events with endearing enthusiasm and spirit.  If you would like to donate to the Activation Team, please review the donation information below. Mavis was a volunteer at Carveth Care Centre for over 40 years, sharing her extroverted, transparent and humorous personality with the residents. We would like to thank the staff and volunteers of the Lodge where Mom lived for 8 years and the LTC where she resided for this past year.  There were very special caregivers and house keeping staff that treated Mom with dignity and respect and we appreciate their thoughtfulness.

 

Mavis grew up in Lansdowne where her and Dad became high school sweethearts.  Shortly after their marriage they navigated their way to Gananoque where they raised their children and became a major part of their community, never saying no to a volunteer activity.  Life for them was filled with people, laughter, music and fun. They opened their home to host many family events, and our friends were always welcome. Mom and Dad loved to travel and had so many great adventures together with special friends and with their family.   

 

Mom raised her children as a stay-at-home Mom until they had all started school and then helped support her family with various jobs in Gananoque. The highlight of her working career was definitely the Dairy Queen where she was known for her skilled management organization, the respect of the DQ girls and her famous blizzards. Our Mother enjoyed curling before her arthritis sidelined her, but her voice could be heard loud and clear at her favourite sport, hockey! In her prime and well into her sixties she was a "Go Gan Go '' cheerleader.  No distance was too far to drive to cheer on her children or local sporting teams.   Sports were always a highlight in our family and Mom never missed any of her children’s or grandchildren's events which included hockey, baseball, figure skating, paddling, school theatre, birthdays and graduations. She was a very proud Mother and Nana.   Mavis had a creative talent for poetry writing and was an ingenious knitter and we were all blessed to receive these treasures.   In her retirement years, Mom was a great euchre and bridge player and was known as a competitive card shark. She truly enjoyed her outings with the Red Hat society with her fashion and sassiness.  

 

Mom and Dad cherished their boating experiences in the 1000 Islands, sharing weekends with their friends and hosting family events on MacDonald Island. It was a highpoint of excitement for both our parents and their grandchildren when they spent sleepovers together on their houseboat.  Mom and Dad devoted 20 years helping care for their grandson Ryan with true compassion and love and always made sure there was a dose of fun for enjoyment. We would like to thank our parents for teaching us the morals, values and principals of life. 

 

Her life was a terrific journey, full of great times with a few bumps in the road as she aged, but she led a thoroughly satisfying life.  She and Dad made many lifelong relationships within the Gananoque and area community that were very special to them and to their children.

 

In honour of our mother Mavis, please consider doing something kind for someone, make a phone call or drop by to see someone you have been meaning to visit, or just take someone for a drive who can no longer do that for themselves. As other expressions of sympathy, donations may be made to the Gibson Family Health Care Charitable Foundation (Activation Dept.) 

 

We would like to express our gratitude to the staff of Tompkins Funeral Home and David Tompkins for their guidance and compassion.

 

For our mother, the circle of life has ended, but Heaven will be a much brighter place with her there, and we can almost hear the laughter and the Toronto Maple Leaf bantering. Dad and Ryan have waited long enough to complete their circle.  Farewell Mom......until we meet again.

 

A sincere thank you to everyone who was a part of our mothers’ journey.

 

Leonard Jeffries, Joanne Forsythe, Douglas Jeffries, Sherrilyn Mangan and their families