Obituary of Dorothy Joyce Blair

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved mother and grandmother, Dorothy Joyce Blair, affectionately known as Dotty. She passed away peacefully at her home in Markham, Ontario on Sunday, June 28, 2020.

Dotty was born in Lucea, Jamaica to George and May McFarlane on October 10, 1931. With her sense of adventure and optimism, she immigrated to Toronto, Canada in 1958. She pursued her career as a registered nurse, beginning at St Michael’s Hospital, then moving on to Scarborough General Hospital, Centenary Hospital and Leisure World Nursing home.

In 1960, Dotty married Scotsman, Doug Blair and raised a family of four daughters in Scarborough, before moving to Markham in the early 1980s. She is survived by her girls and their spouses: Elizabeth and Jim, Deborah and Matt, Andrea and Frank, and Catherine.  She will be dearly missed by her grandchildren, Drew, Lakeisha, Erica, Nicola, Matthew, Nathan, Garrett and Julia.  Her memory will be cherished by her niece Denise and husband Allan, as well as her cousin Cai, husband David and son Wil, and her cousin Dianne.  We take comfort in knowing she is eternally reunited with her late husband, Doug, and sister, Gloria Dewar.

Dotty valued and enjoyed many of the simple pleasures in life: a good cup of tea; spending time in her garden; cooking and baking; and a day at the outlet malls shopping with her daughters. She was a loving grandmother to her eight grandchildren. She found great joy when they came to spend time with ‘Nana’ and could not resist spoiling them. She loved all animals, and over many years raised and spoiled her pet dogs and cats too.  Dotty’s most enduring legacy will always be her unwavering commitment, love and devotion towards her family and friends.

A funeral mass will be held at the church she attended, St Patrick’s Parish, Markham, on Friday July 3rd at 11:00 am for immediate family only due to COVID-19 restrictions. We welcome all of Dotty’s remaining family and friends to participate in the celebration of her life from their homes via a livestream recording of the Mass.  Please contact Dotty’s granddaughter, Lakeisha, at lakeishamcguirk@gmail.com for access to livestream the funeral mass.

We thank you for understanding that during this pandemic, there will not be a visitation.  There will be a private family burial at Christ the King Cemetery, Markham.  We invite Dotty’s family and friends to pay their respects in the future at Christ the King Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of Dotty to the Ontario SPCA and Humane Society (at https://ontariospca.ca) would be sincerely appreciated.