Catherine Anne Elizabeth Canning (nee Foley) 1938-2015
Catherine passed away peacefully on January 24, 2015 at her home in Ottawa, ON following a hard-fought battle with cancer. She was lovingly surrounded by her family and leaves behind her husband Chesley Mills, her daughter Kim D’Angelo, husband Dave and grandchildren Evan and Emily from St. John’s; her son Gord Canning, wife Denise and grandchildren Kayla, Kelsey and Jonathan from Edmonton, AB and her stepdaughter Jenny Mills, Grand Falls. She also leaves to mourn her sisters Barbara Grant (Willard) and Jean Duclos (Pierre) and brother Gerard Foley (Nellie) and sister in law Sylvia Foley and many nieces and nephews. Her infant child Mary, brother Bill Foley, and her parents Martha and Jeremiah Foley predeceased her. Catherine was born in Grand Falls and worked for the Town of Grand Falls and Abitibi Price for a number of years. She subsequently lived in Mississauga, ON, working for CBC and then Whitecourt, AB where she worked with the Town of Whitecourt before retiring to Ottawa. She has met numerous wonderful friends in her travels that she has spoken of fondly throughout her illness and, in fact, throughout her life. Catherine possessed many passions in life, paramount amongst these being her children and grandchildren upon whom she showered her affections. She was an avid gardener and envisioned lofty plans to travel the world with her beloved husband Ches. Throughout her battle with cancer, she remained the eternal optimist. Her youthful spirit and love of Newfoundland always remained. We wish to express, on her behalf, sincere appreciation to the staff of the Health Sciences Centre Emergency Dept., Dr. Dick Barter, medical and nursing staff of 4 North B, and Dr. Cathy Popadiuk, who went above and beyond to ensure she was able to travel back home to Ottawa. Furthermore she wanted to express her absolute admiration and affection for the staff at the Chemotherapy Unit at the Ottawa General Hospital, who ensured she received world-class care and treatment, as did the staff of 7 West, and Dr. Laura Hopkins and her medical team. The compassion shown by the nurses and doctors was overwhelmingly heart-warming and she couldn’t have imagined getting better care anywhere. Funeral will take place at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Grand Falls on Friday, January 30th, 2015 at 11:00 a.m. Donations may be made to the Canadian Cancer Society at www.cancer.ca in Catherine’s name.