Rodina Rintoul
Born In: North Sydney
Born: October 27th, 1938
Passed in: Sydney
Passed on: May 9th, 2014
Rodina Ellen Rintoul, age 75, a loving and generous mother and grandmother, and resident of May Street, North Sydney, passed away on Friday May 9, 2014, at the Cape Breton Regional Hospital, Sydney.
Born in North Sydney, N.S., on Oct. 27, 1938, Rodina was the daughter of the late Margaret and John McKinnon. In her early years, Rodina was a well-known and popular young lady who loved to swim and skate. Rodina graduated from St. Francis Xavier University with two degrees. Rodina received her Bachelor of Arts degree, Magna Cum Laude, on May 18, 1960. A year later she received her Bachelor of Education degree. Rodina began her teaching career at Thompson High School in North Sydney and later was recruited to teach at Mount St. Joseph’s Girls College in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. Rodina specialized in teaching Latin. Rodina loved to teach and had a special gift of making difficult academic concepts easier to understand.
After the birth of her first daughter, Rodina decided to become a stay-at-home mom. Rodina continued to use her special teaching gift to provide academic support to her daughters. She dedicated her life to her two daughters. Her unwavering love and support provided the groundwork for her two daughters to pursue their professional goals. Subsequently she helped raise and nurture her five grandchildren.
Rodina was an active volunteer teacher at many schools in the various communities where she lived. Rodina particularly enjoyed volunteering in Special Education at a school in Ontario. Rodina also trained at the University of Toronto in English as a second language.
In later years, Rodina returned to Cape Breton to care for her mother. Rodina made many new friends. She loved swimming at the pool in North Sydney and was a member of “The Senior’s Club,” a swimming group at Groves Point.
She is survived by two daughters, Dr. Natalie Rintoul (Dr. Gordon Morewood), Philadelphia, Liana Rintoul (Dr. Warren Wilkes), Sydney; her husband Lloyd Rintoul; her five grandchildren, Drake and Gabrielle Morewood, Philadelphia and Sydney, Emily and Darcy Wilkes of Sydney; her sister, Peggy (John Bothwell); her brother, John (Lynn) McKinnon; North Sydney and also by an extended family of the Harris children, Edward, Gloria, Alena, Nina, and Rodina.
Special thanks to her doctors, nurses and respiratory therapists at the Cape Breton Regional Hospital.
Visitation for Rodina will be held 2-4 and 7-9 p.m. Sunday in the W.J. Dooley Funeral Home, 107 Pleasant St., North Sydney. A funeral mass will be celebrated 10 a.m. Monday at St. Joseph Church with Rev. Patrick O’Neill officiating. Burial will follow at Holy Cross Cemetery, North Sydney.
Memorial donations may be made to Hospice Palliative Care Society of Cape Breton.
Online condolences may be sent to www.wjdooley.com.
