STEWART, Enid "Bonnie"
1930 - 2020
Enid Catherine Stewart (1930-2020), better known as Bonnie, will be lovingly remembered by her four sons Douglas, Craig, Gordon and David; daughters-in-law Margaret and Kei; and grandchildren Sarah, Cameron, Madeline, Sarita, Jonah, Noah and Lucah. She has been reunited with her loving husband of almost 58 years, Bob.
Bonnie grew up in Saskatchewan during the Great Depression, the eldest child of Ross and Anne Greenman. Through them and from her prairie upbringing, Bonnie learned to approach every challenge and situation in life with compassion, empathy and common sense. She was unfailingly polite and considerate, but with a backbone of steel in matters of principle.
Her dedication to family was always evident, from the individual, initialed lunches (the envy of other students), daily help with piano practice, homework, sports and the endless parade of neighbourhood kids in and around the house, to her remarkable patience living in a house (and on many long car trips) with a husband and four boys.
Her sons will always remember the long, hot marches through Vincent Massey Park to and from the RA Centre for a day of swimming. We were too young to realize it, but it was an ingenious bit of parenting to make sure we had a fun day at the pool while also tiring us out to give the parents a quiet evening!
She was a voracious reader, often finishing books in a single day, with stacks of books collecting wherever she was. She loved to discuss them with her family, in particular her favourite British murder mysteries.
Bonnie was also a pioneering local journalist, as publisher, editor and lead writer of the Hog’s Back News for over 20 years. Long before the computer age, each edition was typed out and assembled by hand on the kitchen table with scissors and tape. The entire family was pressed into service to help out with door-to-door delivery when each edition came back from the printer. The quality and integrity of her work was acknowledged with regular press access to municipal events and interviews with a long line of mayors and city councillors.
Bonnie served as a strong female role model for her daughters-in-law and granddaughters, and her sons also greatly benefited from the example she set. She projected a fearless strength of character in decidedly non-progressive times, with wit and determination. From her days as a teacher in the 1950s in Saskatchewan - and for a year in England - to her personal and professional life in Ottawa, she showed what true feminism means.
She will be greatly missed by all who knew her, but we are comforted by her legacy, and with a lifetime of fond memories.