
Tribute Wall
A Celebration of Life
A Celebration of Life will be held at Glendale Crossing, 3030 Singleton Ave, London, in the Town Hall, on March 22, 2025, from 3 pm to 5 pm.


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Laurel Ridd posted a condolence
Friday, March 21, 2025
When I was born, she was going by “Merrill”, rather than Marilynn, so she became my Auntie Merrill. Later, as an adult, I sometimes called her Marilynn. Both names evoked for me her big, powerful, loving energy, her sense of humour.
Marilynn and her older sister, my mother, Bev Ridd, maintained a strong bond in spite of spending all of their adult lives in different cities. For many years my mother would visit London in the fall and Marilynn would visit Winnipeg in the spring. Auntie Merrill also made a rare winter visit to Winnipeg when my mother was celebrating her 75th birthday. We flew her in as a surprise for our Mom, who had asked for a swimming pool party to celebrate her 75th. The look of pure joy on the faces of the two sisters (as well as the astonishment of my notoriously shrewd mother) as they met IN THE POOL is etched in my memory and was captured on camera by one of us. Bev and Marilynn sent back and forth for 30 years THE BIRTHDAY CARD: a depiction of two wonderfully agile old granny ballet dancers. My Mom burst out laughing when she received it again this year, mailed by Marilynn in February 2025.
When Auntie Merrill came to Winnipeg every spring, she and I had an annual lunch date. One year when I was driving Auntie Merrill to our annual lunch, Winnipeg was hit by a snowstorm (in May). Big, wet, heavy snow. Suddenly the driver’s side wiper blade snapped off. Visibility was zero as I crawled along, periodically stopping to wipe off the windshield. Auntie Merrill wasn’t too upset, though I think she made some comments about flowers blooming in London…
Our lunches were our chance to catch up on each other’s lives. For about 10 years, there was another component to our visits: a flute lesson! I was impressed with Auntie Merrill’s ability to pick up an instrument at the age of 75, and to keep developing her skill until arthritis made playing no longer possible. She and I would have a lesson and then play duets! Joy for both of us!
Marilynn’s flute skills were built on a foundation of early musical training as a singer. When the grandparents had a significant wedding anniversary, the Garnier and Ridd families would converge in Hornepayne or Thunder Bay, and there would be some family singing. I credit Auntie Merrill with teaching us a couple of songs that I still sing with my mother: My Tall Silk Hat and Bought Me a Cat.
She was a wonderful presence in my life. I remember her with love and gratitude.
J
Jane Storey uploaded photo(s)
Thursday, February 27, 2025
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We are a part of the Cedar Grove family and Marilynn was very much a part of that family.
As you can see she was our Cedar Grove granny xx
We all have many memories.
Playing cards in Bluebird cottage.
Sitting beside Penn Lake in a Muskoka chair knitting a sweater for Tom's snowman teddy, now a Storey family heirloom.
Holding wool in my hands as Marilynn wound wool into a ball.
Taking her role as Olympic head judge very seriously.
Playing her flute in the talent night.
Playing tennis against and with 2 teenage boys !!
Having a great sense of humour
Easy to talk to and we spent hours chatting !!
But we spent hours just sat watching quietly too.
Dignified
A great hugger
We loved her and missed her already being in the UK, but we will miss her even more now
From Jane Rob Tom and Cate xxxxx
M
The family of Marilynn Garnier uploaded a photo
Wednesday, February 26, 2025
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