Julia Beck

JULIA ANN TERESA BECK
(nee Thomas)
27 July 1919 - 11 July 2015

Julia Ann Teresa Beck died peacefully at her home on the morning of Saturday, July 11, 2015.
Julia was the fourth daughter born to Edward Holland Thomas and his wife, Julia Sophia Anslow, who had emigrated to Canada from England in the years before World War I.
She was predeceased by her husband of 46 years, Ernest Walter Beck, and also by her brother, Alfred, and her sisters, Vera, Margaret (Mae), Millie, and Violet (Pat).
She leaves her much loved children David, Carl (Terri), and Marlene, as well as her grandchildren Alexander (Fiona), Augusta (Richie), Andrew (Heather), Austin, Aidin, Sheila, and Jesse (Maggie), and great-grandchildren, Thomas, Simon, Isla, and Desmond. Julia will also be fondly remembered by her many nieces and nephews.

Julia lived through some of the most difficult periods of the twentieth century, including the Great Depression, and worked on the home front at Moore Business Forms, in the former Town of Weston, during World War II, while her beloved “Ernie” served with the Canadian Army in England and western Europe from shortly after their wedding in June 1942 until the end of the War.

She was a devoted wife and mother who provided a happy and caring home environment for her young family while living in semi-rural surroundings in the former Township of Etobicoke during the post-war years. She enjoyed a busy life of visits and social events with her extended family, her neighbours, and many others, including her “coffee friends” who gathered at the Second Cup at Richview Square, until a number of serious health challenges eventually restricted her range of activities.

Julia was a faithful member of St. Gregory’s Roman Catholic Church in Etobicoke for more than forty years. Throughout her active life, she enjoyed gardening, cooking, dancing, and music, and was an enthusiastic member of her church choir. After leaving the working world, she served for many years as a volunteer at the former Humber Memorial Hospital, and also volunteered at St. Gregory's Catholic Elementary School helping children with their reading.

The family wishes to thank Dr. Michael Crummey of the Mount Dennis Medical Clinic for his attentive and understanding care in her declining years, along with the wonderful care she received from her nurses, Belinda from Home Instead and Jessica from Spectrum Health, as well as the caregivers from Home Instead, Rema, Diana, Marion, Victoria, and others, particularly Lynette Scott, for their loving and devoted services over the past several years.

Friends will be received at the Ward Funeral Home, 2035 Weston Road (North of Lawrence Ave. W.) Weston, on Wednesday from 2-4 & 7-9 p.m. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at St. Gregory’s Catholic Church, 122 Rathburn Road, Toronto on Thursday at 10:30 a.m. Interment to follow at Sanctuary Park Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations to the Alzheimer Society of Canada would be appreciated.