Elizabeth Eva Burtney

Elizabeth Eva Burtney 1928 – 2026

Elizabeth Eva Burtney, the seventh child of Nicholas and Maria Burtney (née Stus), was born in April 1928 at the homestead several miles east of Vonda, Saskatchewan. The actual birth date has been in discussion for many years; her father registered her birth as April 9th, but her mother maintained that she was born April 10th.

In 1927, her parents purchased a section of land in the St. Denis district and built a new home. The autumn after Elizabeth’s birth, the family moved to the new location where Elizabeth grew up. She attended Casavant School, where she completed Grade 10. Since there was no opportunity there to continue her education, she stayed home and helped with the work on the farm. She left there in 1948, worked in St. Paul’s Hospital and Killam Hospital, and came to Ontario in 1951. After completing her high school diploma, she became an elementary teacher, just as she told her mother she would be. Beginning in the 1960s, she took a steady stream of university summer school courses, earning a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Windsor in 1973. Elizabeth taught at various school boards in southwestern Ontario and served as a teaching principal for 10 years, beginning in 1960. This was interrupted in 1970 for four years to teach Grade 8, then she returned to principalship in 1974.

Three years later, she changed her teaching trajectory and enrolled in the Sir James Whitney School for the Deaf in Belleville for her deaf education certification. Returning to London the following year, she worked as a special education teacher, teaching Religious Education to the Catholic students at the Robarts School for the Deaf, the Children’s Psychiatric Research Institute, and various schools with programmes for developmentally challenged children. During this time, she continued to participate in courses and workshops to remain current. There was so much about teaching her students and working with her colleagues that she loved, their energy and enthusiasm, their dedication and concern for students. After 34 years as an educator, Elizabeth retired in 1989.

In her retirement phase, she volunteered in various capacities at Banting House, Museum London, St. Michael’s Church Hospitality North, and St. Joseph’s Hospital. She was always up to the challenge of learning new skills: painting, golfing, computers, and whatever else interested her. Her days were filled with activities she enjoyed: playing bridge, attending the Grand Theatre, listening to music, cheering on her Blue Jays, taking early morning walks in Springbank and being with and helping friends and family. In this time of her life, she believed chocolate was a major food group and relished it. Her up-to-date passport was always ready for travel, and she enjoyed those trips immensely.

In her heart, Elizabeth had a special place for the disadvantaged and marginalized, especially the children she taught. She always showed compassion, care, and concern for everyone she met, with kind words to share and she listened well without judgment. Her sense of humour and her laughter were infectious, and she found the bright side to many situations, making them less stressful for those around her.

Elizabeth is predeceased by her parents, Nicholas and Maria, her siblings and their spouses, Helen and Joseph Lucas, William, Jean and Bill Charney, Julia and Jack Godwin, Phyllis and Tony Thoms, Sister Victoria Burtney, Marcella Middleton, Pauline and Michael Smood, and Emily and Alec Schewaga. She is survived by her sister-in-law, Mary Burtney, many nieces and nephews, grand-nieces and nephews, and great-grand-nieces and nephews. She will be missed also by her friends and neighbours.

In lieu of flowers and for those wishing to donate in memory of Elizabeth, please consider the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada or the Alzheimer Society Southwest Partners.

A visitation will be held at St. George Parish, 1164 Commissioners Road West, London on Tuesday, April 7, 2026, from 9:30 – 10:30 a.m., followed by her Celebration of Life Mass at 10:30 a.m. For those unable to attend, the mass will be livestreamed.  You can register for the livestream by clicking on Remembering Elizabeth.

P.S. To honour her parents’ beliefs about her birth date, she celebrated both days as her birthday; a practice we’ll continue.