Sharon Marlene Bekolay

Peacefully at Margaret Bahen Hospice on January 9, 2021 after an 18-month fight with Ovarian Cancer.  Loving Mother of David (Tracey) and Duane (Robin). Doting Grandmother to Maddison, Trent, Zakk, Cole and Tori. Dear Sister to Heather (Craig) and George (Debbie). Sharon will be sadly missed by all of her family, friends and loved ones.  A Celebration of Life to be held at a later date due to current restrictions. In lieu of flowers memorial donations to the Margaret Bahen Hospice in Newmarket, ON would be appreciated by the family.

The daughter of George and Verona Rennie, Sharon was born and raised in Toronto, Ontario and lived there until after she married and moved her young family to Newmarket, Ontario so that she could be a stay-at-home mom.  Not long after moving to Newmarket she found herself a single mom with two young boys to care for. Instead of taking the easier route and move back to the City to live with family. Sharon chose not to uproot her two boys from their new school and friends and stayed in Newmarket. This required her to return to the workforce and for the next 15 or so years work two jobs, sometimes six days a week so that her sons could continue all their activities including playing rep hockey. This meant when she wasn’t working, she was travelling to every cold arena in southern Ontario in a beat-up Honda Civic so she could watch her boys play. She continued those trips until the boys were in their late teens.

Unfortunately, in her early 50’s Sharon found herself unemployed and again did not choose to take the easy road, she decided to go back to School. After a year of “hanging out with all the young kids”, Sharon graduated from Seneca College. The accounting certificate she earned, landed her a job at the York Region District School Board where she retired from in 2010.

Though Sharon deserved a longer retirement she did find the time for many interests including spending time with her numerous friends and her beloved Aquafit classes at the local swimming pools.

Sharon dealt with her illness with strength, courage, positivity and most importantly humour. In her last few weeks spent at the hospice, the room was always filled with laughter.

Thank you to Dr. Yu and team at the Simcoe Muskoka Regional Cancer Centre and Dr. Kung and team at the Stronach Regional Cancer Centre for the compassionate and exceptional care you provided during Sharon’s illness. Thank you to LHIN for providing the remarkable team of nurses and PSW’s to care for Sharon while at home, particularly Arlene and Hyun. Finally, to the extraordinary team at Margaret Bahen hospice, thank you for the gentle care you showed Sharon and her Family in the final weeks of her cancer journey.

Mom, the sacrifices you made for us will never be forgotten, may you rest in peace.