Joan Elizabeth Delamere

Joan Elizabeth Delamere (Pugsley), April 5, 1930 - March 25, 2020 On March 25, 2020, Joan Elizabeth Delamere (nee Pugsley), passed away peacefully at Mount St. Mary Hospital (Care Home). Predeceased by her loving husband Richard (Dick), and her brother in law Tom. Survived by her sisters-in-law, Pauline Delamere, and Gillian Delamer. Cherished by her loving daughters Elizabeth (David Collis), Jenny (Chris McManus), Jane (Jim Sanders), and nephew Christopher Delamere (Claudia Alexander). Beloved grandmother to Devin McManus (Shannon), Dawson McManus (Amber), Glen McManus (Liz Perkins), Tara McManus (Peter Carscadden), Kaitlin McManus, Collin McManus (Kayla Huycke), Maxwell Delamere-Sanders (Maddy Parker), and Rebecca Delamere-Sanders. Proud Great-Grandmother to Ren and Frode McManus. Born in New York City, the Bronx, where her father, Herbert Pugsley, was a general practitioner, moved to Canada when her father got tuberculosis. Joan and her mother lived in Rosedale, Toronto, with her maternal grandparents, while her father convalesced in Gravenhurst at the sanatorium. After six years, Joan and her mother joined her father in Gravenhurst, where her love of nature and the outdoors blossomed. Later, the family returned to Rosedale. Joan received her education at North Ward School in Gravenhurst, Whitney School, in Rosedale and Jarvis Collegiate. She graduated from a business course at Victoria Buchanan Secretarial School and went to work at Continental Life Insurance Company. She married the love of her life, Richard Delamere in 1952. After Dick completed his degree at U of T, they lived on Stoney Lake for a number of years. Joan was blessed with three daughters. After the second daughter was born, they moved to Peterborough. Once her youngest was a teenager, Joan ran a home day care, offering attentive, loving care to numerous children over the years. Her love and care of children continued as her many grandchildren were born, providing childcare to Kaitlin and later assisting Elizabeth in her home day care offering special attention to her own grandchildren there. Joan was a member of the Trent Chapter of the I.O.D.E. A year after Dick retired, in 1989, the couple sold their house and enjoyed winters on their sailboat (and later their trawler) in Marineland, FLA. She enjoyed jungle hikes, bird watching, playing with dolphins and feeding lettuce to manatee. In Florida, she made lasting friendships with members of the boating community. During this time, summers were at the cottage on Stoney Lake, where she enjoyed passing on her love of nature to the grandchildren. She moved to Victoria, B.C. in 2011 with Dick and Elizabeth. Joan and Dick moved to Mount St. Mary in 2016, where she enjoyed various activities, art, exercise and especially music and singing. Joan had a great love and interest in creatures, feeding birds, and treasuring the companionship of her various dogs and cats throughout her life. Joan's warmth, acceptance and love of others was an example to all, and will be sorely missed. A celebration of Joan's life will be announced. Donations may be made to the Sensory Garden for Residents with Dementia at Mount St. Mary Hospital, in Victoria, B.C., or Lakefield Animal Welfare Society, Lakefield, ON.