Former Peterborough federal returning officer Amy Milburn dies
The former federal returning officer for the riding of Peterborough has died at the age of 88.
Amy Milburn followed in her mother’s footsteps when she first became the returning officer.
She was returning officer for seven elections and a referendum after starting in the post in 1987 and retiring in 2010.
She died Tuesday at the Peterborough Regional Health Centre.
A lifelong resident of Peterborough, Mrs. Milburn was also an elementary school teacher for many years, teaching Grades 3 and 4 at Queen Alexandra, Queen Mary, Fairview and Queen Elizabeth public schools.
Prior to becoming returning officer, she spent 30 years helping her mother, Amy Curtis, who had previously been the riding’s federal returning officer.
As returning officer, she organized ballot box locations, managed temporary workers and volunteers, and oversaw the counting of votes.
In a 2010 interview with then Examiner reporter Brendan Wedley, Mrs. Milburn recalled that all documents and lists were done by typewriter when she first became the returning officer.
“Everything had to be done by hand or on typewriters,” Mrs. Milburn said in the interview. “We didn’t have computers until 2000.”
When she retired, she decried the decline in voter turnout over the years.
“People can make excuses for why they don’t vote, but I think they’re forgetting the fundamental right to vote is such a precious thing. It does matter. Every vote matters ... Every vote counts,” Mrs. Milburn told The Examiner.
In 2013, Mrs. Milburn was awarded the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Medal for her volunteer work over the years.
She volunteered with St. Luke’s Anglican Church as well as the Bridgenorth Library, Trent University and Peterborough Regional Health Centre.
Visitation is planned for Aug. 30 from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Ashburnham Funeral Home at 840 Armour Rd., followed by a celebration of life on Aug. 31 at noon at St. Luke’s Anglican Church at 566 Armour Rd.
She is survived by a son, a daughter, two grandchildren and a brother.
The family is asking that memorial donations be made to the Peterborough Regional Health Centre.