LEORA "TOOTIE" KEELING
Born In: FLORENCE
Born: May 14th, 1931
Passed on: November 27th, 2016
It is with deep sadness that we announce the sudden death of our dear mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, Leora “Tootie” Keeling on Sunday, November 27th, 2016, at home, where she most wanted to be.
Born in Florence on May 14, 1931, Tootie was the daughter of the late John and Mammie MacLean.
Through her many years as an educator and an active community member, Mom touched the lives of many students, parents and colleagues and earned their tremendous respect. It gave her such pleasure to meet former students and to reminisce about their time together. Mom was a lady of strong faith which motivated her to be a dedicated member of both St. Stephen’s and Holy Family Parishes. Over the years, she was an active choir member, lector, catechism teacher and member of the finance committee. Mom lived life to the fullest...right to the very end. Staying active was very important to her. She started out as a young baseball player with the Florence Gulls. She was involved in square dancing and yoga but especially loved skating and swimming. Many summers Mom could be found on Florence Beach with several children in tow and then in later years, she enjoyed many hours in her pool. Mom loved to cook and bake and you considered yourself lucky if you were the recipient of one of her Christmas cherry pound cakes. We couldn’t dare leave out how she looked forward to her weekly shopping trips and dining out. Both Mom and Dad were valued patrons of many local restaurants.
She will be greatly missed by her loving children, Clifford, Donnie (Paula), Billy (Ann), Cindy (Jim) Wallace, Michael (Michele), Michele (Lloyd) Fraser, Sheila (Kurt) Kublek, along with many grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces and nephews. Mom enjoyed being actively involved in her grandchildren’s lives and was so proud of their accomplishments. Also left to mourn are her sisters-in-law, Jean MacLean, Edna (William) MacDonald, Helen (Ralph) McKinnon, Ann Marie (Frank) MacCormick and brother-in-law, Patrick Keeling.
Besides her parents, Mom was predeceased by her husband, Sam and her daughter, Heather in infancy; her sister, Sayde Simpson; brothers, Archie, Norman and Gordon MacLean and sister-in-law, Mary Stapleton. She was also predeceased by a granddaughter, Kelsey Keeling.
The family would like to express their sincere appreciation to Dr. John Kirkpatrick and his staff for their wonderful care and consideration for many years. As well, thanks to her many special friends, especially Willena LeBlanc, with whom she spent many evenings.
Visitation for Tootie Keeling will be held in the J.M. Jobes Funeral Home, 635 Main St., Sydney Mines on Friday, December 2, 2016 from 2-4 and 7-9 p.m.
A Mass of Celebration will take place at Holy Family Church, Sydney Mines on Saturday, at 10 a.m. with Father Vern Boutilier officiating.
A reception will be held in the Holy Family Parish Hall after the mass.
In lieu of flowers, donations in Tootie’s memory may be made to St. Stephen’s Cemetery Fund or a charity of your choice.
Words of comfort may be forwarded to the family at www.jmjobesfuneralhome.com.
“A strong woman knows she has strength enough for the journey but a woman of strength knows it is in the journey when she becomes strong” – Unknown
