Grace Squires (nee Ritchie)

Grace Squires (nee Ritchie) was born in Woodstock, Ontario, the second child of Grace and Dave Ritchie, sister to her older brother Dave, and younger sisters Esther and Beatrice. It was a loving home, filled with laughter and music, influenced by her Scottish heritage. Sid first cast eyes on Grace when he saw her starring in a Gilbert & Sullivan Musical at Woodstock Collegiate Institute where they were both students. That was it--she was the girl for him. They became high school sweethearts almost 80 years ago and married in 1952. After high school Grace attended Normal School in London, Ontario, for teacher training, and began her teaching career in Woodstock, and then in Toronto where Sid was beginning his career with Shell Oil.

They started a family in Willowdale where David, Catherine and Dan were born, and then moved to beautiful Owen Sound in 1966, which began one of their happiest chapters. Sid continued at Shell, and Grace taught at Hillcrest Elementary School. They raised their family in a community rich with musical opportunities for their children, involvement in St. Thomas Anglican Church, and participation in all the musical and social activities offered there. A job transfer took them to Sarnia, Ontario in 1977, where they made many wonderful new friends. Grace created a hospitable, beautiful, and loving home, full of laughter and music wherever they lived. Tragically, their youngest son Dan died in 1984 of cancer, a heartbreaking loss for both, triggering an early retirement for Sid and a move to Innerkip near Woodstock in 1986. They became deeply involved in Church of the Good Shepherd where Grace was the choir director and organist, and Grace also became a palliative care volunteer, providing compassionate assistance to other families in crisis. Their growing family of grandchildren was a comfort to them at this time, and Grace invested deeply in building strong and loving bonds with each new grandchild that arrived between 1981 and 1994.

The final years of their retirement were spent in Ottawa near their daughter Catherine’s family, where Grace and Sid sang in St. Martin’s church choir, and Grace continued her hobbies of quilting, sewing, watercolour painting, home decorating, and volunteering. She and Sid received numerous commendations recognizing their volunteer services, including a provincial commendation in 2010. In November 2020 during Covid lockdowns, Grace and Sid moved to Abbotsford, enabling them to be near their son David’s family. Marriage and family were everything to Grace, and she was deeply loved as a wife, mother, sister, aunt, grandmother, great-grandmother and friend. She will be deeply mourned and missed by her husband, Sid, her son David (Colette), her daughter Catherine Landry (Gilles) and her grandchildren Kirsten Zwaan (Neil), Rachel Koprowski, Diana Squires (Matt), Liz Squires (Matt), and Dan Squires (Amelia). Her great-grandchildren Cory, Luke, Grace, Elise, Katie, Sophie, Ella, Xavier, Kieran and Brooke will all miss her warmth, encouragement, and generosity, as will her extended family and friends who were all very dear to her. She is now reunited with her beloved son Dan, and her siblings and parents who predeceased her.