Eleanor McDougall

Eleanor Douglas McDougall (née Hughes)

Eleanor was born on September 27,1938 in Brandon, Manitoba, to James and Eunice Hughes. She was the younger sister of Robert (Bob) Hughes. As a young woman, Eleanor moved to southern Ontario and attended T.L. Kennedy Secondary School in Cooksville, where she was valedictorian of the school’s first graduating class. She attended St. Michael’s College at the University of Toronto and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1960.

It was at St. Michael’s College that Eleanor met Hugh McDougall, with whom she worked for a summer on a Planter’s Peanut float, touring Ontario and Quebec. They married on June 11, 1960 at St. Anselm Church in Leaside. Eleanor worked at the University of Toronto Press until the birth of the first of their four children. Eleanor’s family and her husband became the centre of her life and we were so fortunate that this role fulfilled her.

In the mid 1970s adventure beckoned as Hugh accepted a two-year position as the headmaster of the Canadian Junior College in Lausanne, Switzerland. Eleanor willingly undertook the monumental task of packing up an entire household and moving their family of four children, who ranged in age from 4 to 13 years old, to a country whose language she could not yet speak. What followed were two years of life-changing experiences for every member of the McDougall family. We explored, we skied, we travelled, we camped, we learned French, we relied on each other. Eleanor’s ability to handle any situation that arose, from broken limbs to unexpected houseguests, was unparalleled.

Upon the family’s return to Canada, Eleanor worked as an administrative assistant in the personnel department and in library resources at the Metropolitan Separate School Board where she remained until 1996, the year Hugh retired.

Now that retirement brought freedom from work, Eleanor found time to read tens of thousands of books and to rediscover her love of sports, especially golf and downhill skiing. In 1988, Eleanor joined the Weston Golf & Country Club where she quickly became a proficient golfer and won a number of club competitions and tournaments. Hugh was her proud caddy at many events. Eleanor was an avid skier and travelled with Hugh to ski in Europe as well as in the Canadian and American Rockies.

As a western Canadian true to her roots, Eleanor made friends wherever she went and she could strike up a conversation anywhere and anytime. To those she met just briefly in the line at the grocery store and to longtime dear friends, Eleanor always had something nice to say.

Between 1988 and 2006, Eleanor was delighted to welcome two sons-in-law and two daughters-in-law to her family. Between 1994 and 2010, Eleanor happily became “Nana”, a loving and an oh-so-proud grandmother of nine grandchildren.

A decade ago, we realized that Eleanor’s active life was about to change when she and Hugh received the unwelcome diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease. The impact of this disease was felt by her entire family. Eleanor continued to live with Hugh until mid-2015, after which time she required a greater degree of care, and she moved into assisted living until her death in December 2018 at Cawthra Gardens in Mississauga.

We will forever remember Eleanor's warm smile, her kind disposition and her easy laugh.

Details of the Celebration of Life
Friday, December 21, 2018 (2:00 - 5:00 p.m.)
Weston Golf & CC
50 St. Phillips Rd.
Toronto ON
M9P 2N6

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Alzheimer Association of Toronto or to the Coast to Coast Against Cancer Foundation.


http://on.alz.to/goto/inmemoryofeleanor

https://p2p.onecause.com/rememberingeleanormcdougall