Nora Genevieve (Ryan) Tobin
Born In: North Sydney
Born: September 7th, 1920
Passed in: Sydney
Passed on: May 23rd, 2016
Nora Genevieve (Ryan) Tobin, 95, of North Sydney, passed away Monday morning, May 23, 2016, at the Cape Breton Regional Hospital, Sydney.
Born Sept. 7, 1920 in North Sydney, N.S.she was the youngest daughter of the late Capt. Matthew and Mary (MacLeod) Ryan.
She attended St. Joseph's School in North Sydney and completed her Grade 12 in Sydney Mines. She then studied business at St. Francis Xavier University (Mount St. Bernard) and upon graduation began work at Angel's Foundry in North Sydney as chief accountant and book keeper.
Nora participated in and lead sing-a-longs for regiments of soldiers stationed in North Sydney during the Second World War. She fondly remembered the music, comaraderie and songs at gatherings in the Empire Hall.
In the early 1950s she worked at CN Express in Sydney. In 1954, she left for employment in Seattle where she resided with her uncle John. By the fall of that year, she moved to Los Angeles where she was employed with the largest TV station in the city. After roughly a year in this position, she was offered a major promotion but decided instead to come back to Cape Breton. Upon her return to Cape Breton, she met her future husband, Capt. Michael Tobin. They were married in 1957.
Nora had an avid interest in gardening and golfing. She enjoyed meeting with the local gardening club and travelled in Europe on a couple of occasions with this group. She was in charge of payroll for the newly formed Seaview Golf Club for the first years of the club's existence. She became a member as well and later a member of the board during the crucial 18-hole expansion of the course in the early 1990s. She played golf regularly for almost six decades and scored a hole-in-one on the old number 5 in 1986.
She also sat on the Holy Cross Cemetery Board of Governors. At a time when treeless cemeteries were in vogue, she raised money in the parish for over 100 red maple trees. The results sway majestically over the grounds today.
Mom loved nature. She enjoyed cycling on the Old Branch Road, cross-country skiing, tennis, skating on lakes and ponds (especially Lilly Lake) and swimming in the Bras D'Or Lakes. She dearly loved watching the sunset over George's River.
Mom had a great love of music and played the piano and sang beautifully until just before her death. She hosted musical parties with all her siblings, family and friends, especially on New Year's Eve. She alternated on piano with her brother, Terry (an accomplished pianist) and the music and song would go late into the night.
She was always interested in Canadian politics and in her later years, she watched political news and panels with a mixture of interest, bemusement and concern.
Nora is survived by her sister, Kathleen Ryan and her brother, the Honourable Murray J. Ryan, both residing in North Sydney. She is also survived by her sons, Michael (Elaine), Terry and David; her granddaughter, Cecelia and by her nephews and nieces: Murray; Mary, David, Sally and James; Patricia, Mary Lou, Charles, Matthew, Catherine, Ethel and Nora; and Marjorie, Terence and James.
She was predeceased by her sisters, Mary Cecilia Ryan, R.N. and Anne Ethel Milne, R.N., as well as by her brothers, Capt. David F. Ryan, Terence Ryan, Robert Emmett Ryan and James MacLeod Ryan.
She was also predeceased by her brother-in-law, John Milne; her sisters-in-law, Mena Ryan, Patrica (Patsy) Ryan, Mary Ryan and Mabel Ryan, as well as by her niece, May and her nephew, Matthew.
She was deeply loved and will be dearly missed by all her family and friends.
Visitation 2-4 and 7-9 p.m. Thursday in the W.J. Dooley Funeral Home, North Sydney. Funeral mass will be held Friday at 10 a.m. at St. Joseph Church, North Sydney with Rev. Patrick O'Neil officiating. Burial to follow in Holy Cross Cemetery.
Memorial donations may be made to Holy Cross Cemetery, North Sydney.
Online condolences may be sent to info@wjdooley.com.
