Obituary of Dorothy Wilkinson

Dorothy passed away peacefully at Amica Unionville on Dec.6, 2024 in her

98th year.

 

Predeceased by her loving husband Tom (Ken) Wilkinson, her sisters

Marjorie Hilton and Freda Jackson, and twin brother Harry. She was the

loving mother of Barbara (Kelvin) and Kenneth (Carolyn) and the very

proud grandmother of Clay, Maya, Desi, and Kelly.

 

She was an inspiration to all of us, independently living a healthy, active

life for most of her 98 years.

 

Dorothy was born in Oldham, Lancashire, England.

 

During her late teens and early twenties she shared a passion for ballroom

dancing with her 2 older sisters and they all danced at the competitive

level and taught at the world famous Tower Ballroom in Blackpool,

England.

 

In 1959 Dorothy emigrated to Canada with her husband and young

daughter where she embarked on a career in nursing, first at Northwestern

General Hospital, where she juggled work, family, night school to obtain

her RNA certification all while being pregnant with her son. She continued

at Northwestern for several years and when the family moved she

practised at Etobicoke General.

 

Upon her husband’s retirement, they moved to Campbellford, Ontario

where they built a beautiful home on the Trent River. Dorothy made many

new friends and became active in the local community, participating in

curling and lawn bowling, and volunteering at the hospital.

 

Dorothy and Ken shared a love of traveling and retirement gave them more

time to enjoy their many trips back to England to spend time with family

and friends. They also enjoyed trips to Bermuda, Portugal, Hawaii, and

visiting their son and family in Victoria B.C. The entire family was fortunate

to travel with them on a very special Alaskan cruise.

 

After her husband’s passing, Dorothy remained in Campbellford for a few

years but then decided to move to Markham to be close to her daughter

and son-in-law. She re-invented herself once again, made many new

friends, and was very active with the Markham Senior’s Centre.

She continued to travel back to England, Bermuda, Puerto Vallarta and at age

80, went to South Africa on a safari!

 

It was only in the last 18 months that Dorothy became unable to live

independently and moved into assisted living at Amica, where she

continued to make new friends with both residents and staff.

 

The family would like to thank the caring staff at Amica Unionville, and to

the doctors and nurses at Evergreen Palliative Care.

 

Dorothy showed us all how to have a laugh in life. We can still imagine her

on her way out the front door, with her dance shoes in hand, telling Kenny,

“Expect me when you see me!”