Died peacefully and surrounded by family on Monday morning, June 8, 2009, at The Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto. She is survived by her four children, Eve (Hubert Lum), Chris (Mona Foerster), Andrew, and Blake (Patrick Martin); her grandchildren, Hilary and Vivian Lum, Robin and Julietta Cedar, Clayton Leyerle, and Peter Martin; and her sister and brother, Joan Helde and Stephen Parry. She is predeceased by her infant son, Peter; her parents, Mary Hamill and John H. Parry; her sister, Barbara Druschel; and her brothers-in-law, Hank Druschel and Thomas Helde.
Mary Ellen was born in Geneseo, New York, on January 8, 1929, the third of four children. In 1950, she graduated from Vassar College, married John Frank Leyerle and moved with him to England where John, a US Naval officer, was attached to the Admiralty office in London. After John left the navy, they lived in Oxford and Cambridge, Massachusetts, as John completed graduate studies in Medieval English. In 1959, John accepted a position in the English Department at the University of Toronto and they moved to Toronto. There they settled and raised their children. Though their marriage ended in 1979, Mary Ellen loved her adopted country and chose to remain permanently in Toronto. She was proud to become a Canadian citizen in 1991.
After her youngest children entered high school, Mary Ellen entered the working world, joining the University of Toronto. There she held several secretarial and administrative positions including those at the Department of Health Administration, the Drama Centre, and Massey College.
An ardent advocate for peace and disarmament, Mary Ellen was especially active in the Voice of Women. She was also deeply committed to environmental protection and animal welfare. A lover of books and music, she was a faithful supporter of the Toronto Consort and Tafelmusik, whose concerts brought her joy right up to her death.
In 1978, Mary Ellen first went to Prince Edward Island. There, she discovered a second home. She bought a cottage on the eastern shore where she spent her summers in great delight, watching the herons, hummingbirds and kingfishers and noting the movement of the tides and clouds.
In her last years, as the cancer progressed, she lived courageously. Thanks to her excellent medical team (Drs. Clemons, Levin, and Seccareccia) and the compassionate services of St. Elizabeth visiting nurses (especially Maureen), she was able to remain at home until two weeks before her death, when she was admitted into the palliative care unit of the Princess Margaret Hospital. Right before she died, the hospital's extraordinary staff made it possible for her to return home one last time. How delighted she was to be with her family, to see her garden and her cats, feel the sun and the breeze, and to hear the birds sing.
Funeral arrangements are being handled by Turner and Porter. A memorial service will be held at Knox College Chapel, University of Toronto, on June 14, at 2 p.m. In lieu of flowers, donations to the Nature Conservancy, Vassar College, or The Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation would be greatly appreciated by the family.

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