Obituary for Barbara McKay-Ward
FUNERAL DETAILS: scroll to the bottom of the obituary.
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On Friday, January 13, 2023, our daughter, wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and friend, Barbara, passed away at her home in Melville with her husband/accomplice of 18 years, Paul, by her side.
She was predeceased by her parents, Alec and Elizabeth; brothers George, Douglas and Dick; and sister Donna. Left to mourn is her husband, Paul; mother-in-law Pauline; siblings Terri, Joanie (Francis), Rita (Wayne), Lloyd (Bernice), Fred (Michelle), Bentley (Wanda), Joanne, Sandra (Paul), Victor (Sherri), Roberta and Melissa (Bill); children Kerry (Tim), Wally, Melanie (Alfred), Robin, Amanda (Brett) and Amber (Mark).
Barb cherished her family and friends. She enjoyed gatherings in her yard by her flower garden, which was her labour of love. Yellow roses and tiger lilies were her favourite flowers. She grew up around horses, was a barrel- racer and felt at home on the back of a horse. Sunday drives on back roads was one of her favourite ways to explore and find treasures in nature while spending quality time with Paul. She also enjoyed riding the Harley and took a couple of vacation trips back to the USA, to the mountains where she felt she belonged.
Barb enjoyed watching rodeo, and in the early years, she enjoyed curling and fastball. She later joined the Melville bowling league and won a medal; she was very competitive. Barb made her best effort to watch her grandchildren and great-grandchildren play hockey, ball and bowling. She was a talented and passionate seamstress and pattern- maker. Barb enjoyed reading; her favourite authors were VC Andrews and Stephen King and true crimes books. She also enjoyed dancing, singing and learned to play guitar.
Barb spent a lot of time in her yard tending to her flower garden. People passing by would compliment on how beautiful the yard looked. She also created a fairy garden for the children to play with. After they left, Barb would go and rearrange the fairy garden; it gave her so much joy to see her grands and great-grands playing with it.
Education was very important to her; she held a degree in education. She was very proud that all her children graduated and encouraged her grandchildren to continue their education. Barb was a bus driver, a substitute teacher and loved to learn. Anyone who knew Barb knows how she loved a good debate. She always had to have the last word.
Barb had a nickname for everyone; to name a few: Cindy was #1, Taran was Angel, Cassie was Precious, Josh was Main Man and Calab was Monster. Family meant a lot to her. She was present for the birth of grandson Josh and named him; she was also present for the birth of grandson Dakota.
Barb was very spiritual. Her culture was very important to her. Her sobriety was also very important to her; 2023 would have been her 10th year of sobriety. Being spiritual helped her to maintain her sobriety and to stay positive and mentally strong during her illness. Her motto was “Don’t EVER give up.”; she even had it tattooed on her left shoulder.
We would like to give a special thank you to the home care and palliative care nurses who helped make it possible for Barb to stay home and out of the hospital.
A Celebration of Life will take place on Saturday, June 24, 2023, from 12:00 to 3:00 p.m. in Paul and Barb’s yard, 440 Ontario Street, Melville. It will be potluck; bring enough food to feed your family. Coffee, tea, juice and water will be provided.
TO LEAVE A CONDOLENCE MESSAGE: click on the “Memory Wall” tab above
TO MAKE A MEMORIAL DONATION: scroll to the bottom of this page.
On Friday, January 13, 2023, our daughter, wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and friend, Barbara, passed away at her home in Melville with her husband/accomplice of 18 years, Paul, by her side.
She was predeceased by her parents, Alec and Elizabeth; brothers George, Douglas and Dick; and sister Donna. Left to mourn is her husband, Paul; mother-in-law Pauline; siblings Terri, Joanie (Francis), Rita (Wayne), Lloyd (Bernice), Fred (Michelle), Bentley (Wanda), Joanne, Sandra (Paul), Victor (Sherri), Roberta and Melissa (Bill); children Kerry (Tim), Wally, Melanie (Alfred), Robin, Amanda (Brett) and Amber (Mark).
Barb cherished her family and friends. She enjoyed gatherings in her yard by her flower garden, which was her labour of love. Yellow roses and tiger lilies were her favourite flowers. She grew up around horses, was a barrel- racer and felt at home on the back of a horse. Sunday drives on back roads was one of her favourite ways to explore and find treasures in nature while spending quality time with Paul. She also enjoyed riding the Harley and took a couple of vacation trips back to the USA, to the mountains where she felt she belonged.
Barb enjoyed watching rodeo, and in the early years, she enjoyed curling and fastball. She later joined the Melville bowling league and won a medal; she was very competitive. Barb made her best effort to watch her grandchildren and great-grandchildren play hockey, ball and bowling. She was a talented and passionate seamstress and pattern- maker. Barb enjoyed reading; her favourite authors were VC Andrews and Stephen King and true crimes books. She also enjoyed dancing, singing and learned to play guitar.
Barb spent a lot of time in her yard tending to her flower garden. People passing by would compliment on how beautiful the yard looked. She also created a fairy garden for the children to play with. After they left, Barb would go and rearrange the fairy garden; it gave her so much joy to see her grands and great-grands playing with it.
Education was very important to her; she held a degree in education. She was very proud that all her children graduated and encouraged her grandchildren to continue their education. Barb was a bus driver, a substitute teacher and loved to learn. Anyone who knew Barb knows how she loved a good debate. She always had to have the last word.
Barb had a nickname for everyone; to name a few: Cindy was #1, Taran was Angel, Cassie was Precious, Josh was Main Man and Calab was Monster. Family meant a lot to her. She was present for the birth of grandson Josh and named him; she was also present for the birth of grandson Dakota.
Barb was very spiritual. Her culture was very important to her. Her sobriety was also very important to her; 2023 would have been her 10th year of sobriety. Being spiritual helped her to maintain her sobriety and to stay positive and mentally strong during her illness. Her motto was “Don’t EVER give up.”; she even had it tattooed on her left shoulder.
We would like to give a special thank you to the home care and palliative care nurses who helped make it possible for Barb to stay home and out of the hospital.
A Celebration of Life will take place on Saturday, June 24, 2023, from 12:00 to 3:00 p.m. in Paul and Barb’s yard, 440 Ontario Street, Melville. It will be potluck; bring enough food to feed your family. Coffee, tea, juice and water will be provided.