Shirley Marie (Wilton) Atkinson

Our wonderful mother Shirley Atkinson (Wilton) passed away on January 15th, 2021 in her 98th year. She was a force of nature, still on her feet until a week before finally succumbing to terminal cancer, diagnosed over a year ago.

She was very much loved and will be very much missed by her four children, eight grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren and all of our spouses, friends and partners who had the privilege of her company.

Shirley was born and raised outside of London Ontario and outlived her four brothers (Clarence, Harold, Kenneth and Ray Wilton). She and her husband Mike (Wm. Gerald) Atkinson, an executive at Somerville Belkin Industries raised their family in Old South London where she was active in the choir at St James Westminster and had a long career volunteering in the community. She and Mike loved cottaging, friends, and travel and had a happy life together for almost 50 years before he passed away in 1996.

Shirley loved life, good food and good company. She was an avid gardener and enjoyed bonfires, butter tarts, cards, crosswords, and gin and tonics with lime. She loved fashion and she sewed, quilted, did needlepoint, and knitted for herself, family and friends.

She will be greatly missed by her children and their spouses.  Michael (Carol Spurgeon), Jeanne (Mirek Samborski), Cheryl  (Donald Schmitt) and Robert (Mahnaz Eslami). Her grandchildren Robin ( Brian Kerwin) and Karen; Mark (Nila Halycia) and Maja (Michael Bowman); Alexander (Rika Sawatsky) and Samuel (Monica Slavov); Patrick (Pricilla Jales) and Jessica. Her seven great-grandchildren are Karen’s children Kealee, Avery, Aiden and Quinn McGroty;  Robin’s and Brian’s children Ethan and Logan Kerwin; and Sam and Monica’s new baby Lua Schmitt.

A very special thanks to Dr. Nina Horvath, and Tina Parassakis, and the Palliative Care Team at the Freeman Centre NYGH, and all of her friends and the wonderful staff at Chartwell Gibson House Retirement home in Toronto.