Obituary of Lois Florence MacKinnon

It is with great sadness that we say goodbye to our mom, Lois Florence MacKinnon, who passed away peacefully on Dec 9, 2024, with family by her side. She was the daughter of Ernest and Minnie (Sparks) Grierson of Hazeldean, Ottawa.  She was the youngest of four children; a dear sister of Arthur Grierson, Harold Grierson, and Doris (Grierson) Hope. Mom grew up on her family’s dairy farm in Kanata, ON, living next door to both sets of her grandparents, George Henry and Charlotte Sparks, and Thomas and Carolynn Grierson, who were pioneers of the Ottawa Valley. 

After graduating from Nepean High School, mom obtained her RN at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Montreal, where she worked as an Operating Room Nurse. She later moved to Vancouver and worked at Shaughnessy Military Hospital, and soon met the love of her life, John MacKinnon. His Forestry profession took them to the East/West Kootenays where they raised their six daughters. 

Mom was very artistic, and made treasured needlepoint pictures, countless dresses, Cowichan sweaters, and in her later years enjoyed watercolour painting, sketching, and a game of bridge with her daughters. She enjoyed volunteering at the church thrift shop, and visiting hospital patients and shut-ins. She was an avid hiker and was active in the Nordic Club, with memories of the Bugaboos, and Hanging Glacier. Mom loved adventure and travel, and kept countless journals and scrapbooks of people she met and places she visited, from Vancouver Island to driving across Canada to the Maritimes, while having her sights set on visiting the shores of Newfoundland and Labrador. 

She is survived by her six daughters, Marilyn MacKinnon, Janine Amatori (Pasquale), Cheryl Conroy, Lissa Mielczarek (Henry), Corinne Oslund (Noel), and Leah Perry; grandchildren, Niall, Nathan, Michael, Amissa, Jessica, and Ryan (Madlynn); great-grandchildren, Sigi, Olive, Otto, and Nolan, as well as her nieces and nephews. Lois was predeceased by her beloved husband John MacKinnon, with whom she shared 60 years, her siblings, and special grandson Jonathan Patrick Conroy (Billi-Jo).

The family would like to thank the nursing staff and Palliative care unit at the Fredericton Hospital, and her special friends at Christ Church Cathedral.

An interment will take place in the spring at Pinecrest Cemetery in Ottawa. For those who wish, memorial donations may be made to Wounded Warriors Canada or the Canadian Red Cross. 

 

“Our sweet mom, you were a bright light, a gentle spirit, and you will be greatly missed. Sleep in Heavenly peace.” 

           

And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. 

But the greatest of these is love.