JUNE WILLMOT NORRIS-ELYE (PHILLIPS)

Adjust Text Size: A+ A-

JUNE WILLMOT NORRIS-ELYE (nee PHILLIPS) June Willmot (Phillips) Norris-Elye, 86, teacher, scholar, singer, wife, mother, grandmother, wonderful and beloved human being, died on Sunday, April 29, 2012, at St. Boniface Hospital. June was predeceased by her loving husband Oliver, and is sorely missed by her children Catherine, Dorothy, Alan, Jacqueline, granddaughter Erin, brother Joe, sisters Gladys, Rene, Dorothy and nieces and nephews. June was born to Gilbert Lloyd and Dorothy Vernon (Willmot) Phillips on March 1, 1926, in Glace Bay, NS, into a loving, hard working and musical family. Due to her mother's devoted nursing, she survived a cholera outbreak, much as her family survived the World Wars, Great Depression and the loss by fire of the garage business her father had started to support his family, yet somehow finding the capacity to help raise 'extra' children in the difficult times of the era. June enjoyed her young years immensely. Throughout her life she felt very close to her family. Reading, music and the arts played a large part in family life. June graduated Normal College at 15, teaching students older than herself. Having an exceptional voice, she studied opera under Mariss Vetra, while also studying piano and art, performing in plays, operas and on the radio. In 1951, she met Oliver, then a Naval officer later partaking in NATO exercises in the Mediterranean, and in 1953, they wed. They relocated to Toronto, where June taught at Bruce School while continuing her vocal and piano studies. An opportunity for an audition at the New York Metropolitan Opera was interrupted by the necessity of moving to Winnipeg, to be with Oliver's father following a debilitating stroke. June resumed her teaching career at Strathmillan School along with her musical studies and the couple was kept busy both with work and taking courses. In 1958, they purchased their first home, and June devoted her energies to her growing family, sewing many of their clothes, baking, cooking wonderful meals, reading patiently and lovingly to her children, trying to ensure a strong foundation of love and a well-rounded mind for them all. Their backyard was always full of neighbourhood children, as June made her home a warm and welcoming nest for the family, formed of the best that she could do for each and every child. As a social activist and writer, she also corresponded over the years with people as various as Richard J. Needham, author and columnist for the Toronto Globe and Mail, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau and author Sean Herron. Once her children were in school, June studied theology, philosophy, writing, and fine arts at a nearby college. She found interest in working as a waitress, home support worker and research surveyor prior to teaching English as a second language at Applied Linguistics, passionately helping and challenging her beloved students for many years. June and Oliver were fortunate in spending their retirement years together, having at last the time to properly enjoy their lives as a couple. As failing health began to limit her once-boundless energy and mobility, June spent years working, in collaboration with Oliver and Gladys, on the treasured family books which not only recounted her family's history, but connected them with a bigger picture of the world and our society as a whole. She and Oliver supported good causes and those who needed help with unconditional love and caring. And as deeply as their loss is felt, the good they brought and the joy they made still survives... According to her wishes, cremation has taken place and no service will be held.

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on May 05, 2012