Mom ‘Grams’ left us on February 17, 2024, in the calm, unpretentious and loving way she approached all of life. She was in her 95th year.
Born in Hamilton, Ontario, on December 15, 1929, to Ruth Ann and Maxwell Robert Legate, Joan grew up in Guelph and eventually followed her father’s passion and became one of the few women in science at the time by studying Pharmacy at the University of Toronto, graduating in 1953. It was at university that she met her future husband John, her partner in life for almost 70 years.
Joan worked in hospital pharmacy for most of her career, first at the Brantford General Hospital where her son John and daughter Mary were born, then with the Meaford General Hospital when the family moved to Meaford and purchased Muxlow Pharmacy in 1960.
Family was extremely important to Joan, and she loved nothing better than to organize family dinners and gatherings, both small and large, nuclear and extended. Travel was also a love, with trips to the Galapagos and to the Serengeti with family and friends being highlights of a life well-lived. And then there was her need to stay out of the cold – in her later years, Florida was a second home for Joan and John in the winter, where again family would visit and where she developed many friendships.
She was also community-minded and involved in many aspects of making Meaford a better place. A place of joy was on the golf course, where she showed her passion for the game by consistently playing well and winning several club championships along the way. Her ability to consistently hit the ball straight and keep it on the fairway always challenged her son John, who could not (and cannot) do this, but it has shown up in the golfing prowess of her grandchildren Megan and Michael. She was rewarded for this skill by claiming no less than five holes-in-one over her golfing career!
Golf was also a place for her to demonstrate her organizational abilities, calculating handicaps and making sure the Ladies groups in Meaford and at Maple Leaf Estates in Florida were well taken care of. Her abilities to organize and be so thoughtful about it – pills, photos, people, recipes, whatever – were remarkable skills that she effortlessly could apply to any situation. It gave her an upper hand in playing bridge and free cell and undertaking crafts and pottery.
Joan was honest about all things and would look at the world from both her scientific training and her heart. When you needed it most, she would call a spade a spade. As she entered her golden years, she was asked what it was like. Her response was, “They call these the Golden Years – what a load of crap!” – with a smile on her face!
Although dementia robbed her of many of her abilities in the past few years, she kept her spirit right up to the end, including playing a mean game of ping-pong until she was 91!
Joan was predeceased by her husband John Campbell Lounds, and leaves her daughter Mary Elizabeth, son John Robert (m. Ellen McRae), grandchildren Megan and Michael Chapman, step-grandchildren Aimee, Scott, Melanie, and Edward Ruttle, and great-grandchildren Makala, Lou, and Finn. She also leaves many nieces and nephews and their families, who were always checking in on Aunt Joanie and many, many friends and acquaintances whose lives she touched. Always one to encourage us all to follow our own paths, she was a beacon of encouragement for us in our careers and lives.
A celebration of Joan’s life will be held when it is warmer outside (she didn’t like the cold). A graveside service will take place at Lakeview Cemetery in Meaford.
As your expression of sympathy, donations to the Meaford Hospital Foundation would be appreciated and may be made through the Ferguson Funeral Home, 48 Boucher St. E., Meaford, ON, N4L 1B9 to whom arrangements have been entrusted. www.fergusonfuneralhomes.ca
