Cecilia Daye
Born In: North Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada
Born: April 8th, 1928
Passed in: Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Passed on: July 17th, 2012
It is with deep sadness that we announce the peaceful passing of our dear mother, grandmother, sister, aunt and friend, Cecilia Daye, Tuesday, July 17, 2012 at the Halifax Infirmary.
Born in North Sydney on April 8, 1928, she was the daughter of the late Alexander and Christina (MacNeil) MacLellan.
She grew up in a company house at 9 Forrest St. She lived in Ward 4 for most of her adult life, spending a brief time in Montreal. After finishing high school at St. Joseph’s School and training at secretarial school, she worked at Trader’s as a book keeper. Cecilia loved a good joke, even a bad one – both telling one and hearing one. Her laugh was unforgettable and will always be remembered by those who witnessed it. She would hold company of her children’s friends around the table in the kitchen sharing stories and laughs, playing cards and games and even wagging her finger at us in heated debates. She was truly a “character.”
Cecilia was a member of St. Joseph’s Church and ran the Parish Centre Hall organizing events and fundraisers. She was very active in the Northside General Ladies Hospital Auxiliary. She was one of the founders of the hospital canteen, which she managed and did the book keeping for as a volunteer. She loved to crochet and would make baby clothes, donating them for purchase at the canteen.
She also managed the Belmont Hotel and Restaurant on Archibald Ave and was actively involved in the Liberal Party, acting as a volunteer and a Returning Officer on many occasions. Her bread and pies were the best as was most anything she decided to bake or cook. She loved to make preserves, making jams and pickles and beets annually for all of us to enjoy. She was an avid reader and loved to listen to music. She liked to find a good deal when she and her sisters would shop. She enjoyed road trips to Halifax and the eastern seaboard. She loved jewelry and clothes and was always smartly dressed for every occasion. Cecilia spent the last two years living at Northwood in Halifax.
Cecilia is survived by sons Luke Daye, Calgary, Bob Daye (Debbie LeGresley), Winnipeg and daughters, Marlene (Jim) Smith, Lower Sackville, and Mary Ann Daye (Heather Gibson), Halifax also surviving stepchildren, Margarie (John) Cook, Mabel (Dan) Danby, Mary Pauline (Robert) Verrier, Madeleine ‘Bibs’ (Mike) Spooner, and Cyril ‘Buddy’ (Lois) Joseph and three grandchildren, Jeremy, Nicole and Katie, and her sister Avitus Cameron.
Cecilia was predeceased by her husband Luke to whom she married in 1955 until his death in 1980; her sister Mary Margaret MacNeil and brothers Duncan and Stanley.
Visitation for Cecilia will be 2-4 p.m. and 7-9 p.m. Friday in the W.J. Dooley Funeral Home, 107 Pleasant St. North Sydney. Funeral mass will be held on Saturday, 1 p.m. at St. Joseph Church North Sydney, with Rev. Patrick O’Neil officiating. Burial in Holy Cross Cemetery North Sydney.
Donations to Northwood or The Heart and Stroke Foundation in her memory will be welcomed.
Online condolences may be sent to www.wjdooley.com.
