McGRATH (Purdy), Irene Ellen

The family of Irene McGrath regrets to announce her passing on Thursday, November 14, 2019 in St. Peter’s Hospital, Hamilton, at the age of 85. Irene passed peacefully with family by her side and serenaded with her favourite fiddle songs. Born in Tatamagouche, she was predeceased by her parents, Charles and Rosella. Dear sister of the late George (the late Marion), the late Kenneth (survived by wife Frances), the late Minnie (the late Ronald), the late John, Dennis (Dorothy) and Judy (the late Stanley). Predeceased by her dear son, David Purdy. Dear mother of Philip (the late Nancy), William (Patti), Grant, Monty (Mary-Ann) and Everett (Leanne). She will be sadly missed by many grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great great-grandchildren. Mom, Nan, Irene was a resilient, resourceful, fiercely independent person who lived within her means, insisted on paying her own way and had a "waste not, want not" approach to life born of challenging times. With that said, what she did have, she shared freely and always put the needs of her family ahead of her own. She raised six sons and helped in the raising of numerous grandchildren. She loved all of her family dearly. She set an example for her family to strive for. Through the years Irene enjoyed making crafts, knitting, crocheting, word search puzzles, cooking for family, sharing family recipes as well as making quilts for family from scratch by hand with love. Mom, Nan, was also known for her "sayings" or "Nanisms". On a regular basis, seemingly out of the blue, and based on the phase of the moon, the colour of the sky, or the bubbles in her tea cup, she would gift us with a bit of wisdom that was passed down through the generations and can’t be found in a book. She was wise and kept us all smiling and wanting more. While her home for the majority of her life was in Hamilton, a part of her heart always belonged to her hometown in Nova Scotia. In her later years she enjoyed spending the summers in Nova Scotia with her sister-in-law Frances, her son Philip, daughter-in-law Nancy and her cousin Christe and family. Special thanks to the Carlisle Retirement Home staff, VON, LHIN and St. Peter’s staff for their support. A special thanks also for her niece Belinda and Belinda’s husband, David, for providing the fiddle serenade that eased her passing. Cremation has taken place. At Irene’s request no memorial service will be held however, also at her request, her ashes will be scattered in Malagash in the spring of 2020. Donations may be made to the charity of your choice.