Doreen Yvonne Marvis Nix née Funk left us suddenly on July 11, 2026, in Toronto at the age of 90.
Born in 1935 in Flin Flon, Manitoba, the eldest of three children, Doreen was a true small town gal. She spent wonderful childhood summers on her grandmother’s farm in Saskatchewan and was the apple of her father’s eye, Joseph Funk.
As a natural storyteller, Doreen recounted many of her experiences to friends and family over the years. There was the ‘cake decorating job disaster’ story and the ’emergency landing a small plane’ story to name but two!
Doreen played many roles in her life, from beauty queen, bank teller, mother, housewife, neighbour, cooking show prep person, property manager, to palliative care nurse. She was strong-willed, energetic, hard-working, and fun-loving.
Doreen was an avid tennis player, winning many championships. She was a great Scrabble player, a voracious reader of classics and contemporary fiction and subscribed to National Geographic and Canadian Geographic. She was curious-minded, loved to watch sports and could update you on the latest tournament! She was a dedicated CBC listener and loved nature shows.
She enjoyed travel, spending many winters in Hawaii and then Costa Rica in later years. She loved music, singing and dancing, and had an infectious smile, making friends everywhere she travelled.
She loved her children, grandchildren, and was absolutely over the moon at being a great-grandmother, affectionately referred to as Dodo.
When her eldest daughter moved to Meaford, she loved coming to visit, sitting on the front porch reading or chatting with neighbours. She got to know the gals in the Scarecrow Kazoo band who tooted at her 90th birthday celebration. She spent quality time with her family at the house in Meaford.
Doreen lived independently until the end; just the way she wanted it!
Doreen is survived by her sister, Elaine Zaft, her step-sister Birgit Sorenson; children , Jennifer Alice Burak, Dollie Charlotte Nix, Robert Andrew Nix and Julie Christine Hay; grandchildren Joseph Robert Burak and Bonnie Ann Hizaka, spouses Teresa Maynard Burak and Scott Hizaka, as well as great-grandchildren Emily, Alexander, and Senara.
She valued philanthropy, supporting a number of charities. In lieu of flowers, donations to Operation Smile Canada operationsmile.ca or Nellie’s Women’s Shelter nellies.org can be made.
A celebration of life for friends and family will be held on September 27 in Toronto. For details email: jenniferburak@hotmail.com
