Lisanne O’Leary

Obituary

LISANNE O’LEARY

Our beloved sister, Lisanne, born in Hamilton Ontario on November 25, 1960, passed away peacefully following a beautiful Southampton sunset at her family cottage on September 17, 2021, surrounded by her family. Lisanne was embraced and cared for by a very extensive community of family and friends throughout her illness with ovarian cancer; an extraordinary testament to the loving impact she had on so many lives.   Predeceased by her parents Dennis Francis O’Leary (2016) and Betty Aileen O’Leary (2005), she will be dearly missed by her three siblings Dennis (Bente), Bridget (Stephen Gleave), Sean (Karen Speirs), her nephew and nieces, Patrick and Brenna O’Leary and Alexandra Gleave, and by her extended family of relatives and dear friends in Hamilton, Toronto, Southampton and elsewhere.

Lisanne grew up in Hamilton, Ontario, and from a very young age spent most of her summers in Southampton with her family, where she learned to play tennis, roller-skate, swim, and made many life-long friendships. A strong athlete in her high school years, she participated in basketball, cheerleading, skiing, tennis, track-and-field, and volleyball. Lisanne pursued her Bachelor of Education from the University of Toronto, graduating in 1985, and she commenced her career as an elementary teacher with the Toronto Catholic District School Board in the fall of that year. Her teaching career spanned 35 years. After supply teaching for a short period of time she began teaching full time at Nativity of Our Lord (Oct. 1986 – Jan. 1987), St. Gregory (Jan. 1987 – June 1996), St. Josaphat (Sept. 1996 – June 1997), St. Clement (Sept. 1997 – Feb. 2005), St Marcellus (Mar. 2005 – Feb. 2006) and St. Joseph (Feb. 2006 – Feb. 2020). While teaching, Lisanne obtained her Master of Education at University of Toronto’s Ontario Institute for Studies in Education. She continued to pursue challenges throughout her career, culminating in many years devoted to teaching students with special education needs, including the Junior Literacy and as a teacher of an Intensive Support Program for students with Learning Disabilities. Throughout her career, Lisanne exemplified love, compassion, dedication, and professionalism to her students, colleagues, and parent community alike.

Wherever she went, Lisanne made many friends and had long-lasting relationships. Her love of nature, gardening, outdoor activities, painting, movies, and tennis filled her life and brought her joy, along with the love and care she had for her family and friends. Her faith became a very important part of her life, filling her with joy, sustaining her through trials, and inspiring her to environmental action through her parish Climate Action Group. Lisanne’s final project is a lasting legacy to her love of creation; designing and planting a Butterfly perennial pollinator garden at her parish with the support of her group members.

All who knew Lisanne will forever cherish their time spent together. Her genuine warmth and fun-loving spirit will be truly missed.

We would like to extend special thanks to all of Lisanne’s incredible caregivers; the Carepartner nurses, the personal support workers at Rural Homecare for their exceptional support during her final weeks, and the dedicated staff at Southampton Hospital and Princess Margaret Hospital.

Due to Covid restrictions, a private funeral was held at St. Ann Parish, Ancaster, at 3:00 pm on Friday October 8, 2021, and a private reception at the Tamahaac Club will follow. The funeral was recorded and is available using the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=VySLHE6hsF0

Interment will take place on a later date at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Burlington, Ontario

If desired, donations in her memory may be made to the Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation (Ovarian Cancer Medical Oncology Fund) or the David Suzuki Foundation.