Ann Leah Cormier, 89, joined the heavenly choir May 28, 2022, in London, ON. Born Ann Dalton in Newcastle, NB, the youngest child of a large Irish-Canadian family, she graduated from St. Francis Xavier University in 1953 with a B.Sc., becoming a popular nursing instructor at the Moncton Hospital. She married Paul Cormier in 1960, and shortly afterward moved from the east coast to Port Arthur, ON. Besides being a loving and nurturing mom to a big family, she was active in the Catholic Women's League, an enthusiastic curler, a volunteer for the Heart & Stroke Foundation and the Canadian Cancer Society, and sang and played organ with the Corpus Christi Church Choir. She performed with the Cambrian Players, was active in the Liberal Party, and was an early patron and volunteer of the North of Superior Film Association and the Fringe Festival. She enjoyed a similarly active, benevolent, and friend-filled life during the Cormier family's years in Kenora, ON from 1979 to 1984, where she served proudly as a School Board Trustee. She spent her last years in London, where she was a cheerful and well-loved resident of a retirement community.
Pre-deceased by baby daughter Natalie in 1963, and husband Paul in 2008, Ann is survived and will be fondly remembered by daughter Dr. Clare Kozroski, husband Gordon, and grandchildren Gina, Leah, and Alexander of Gull Lake, SK; son Dalton of Thunder Bay; son Frank and wife Laurel Martin of Winnipeg; daughter Beth and grandchildren Ethan and Sarah of London; son Patrick, wife Liane, and grandchildren Kate and Nathan of London; daughter Mary-Jean Cormier, husband Andrew Nixon, and grandsons Paul, Christopher, and James, of Thunder Bay.
"Nan-Ann" was a fun and active mother and grandmother, loved her church and community, and touched many lives. She enjoyed glorious days at Dog Lake, and travelled broadly. She was a strong little woman with a great big heart and a loving soul, who occasionally "got her Irish up."
A funeral mass will be held August 23 at Corpus Christi Church. More details will be provided at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations to the Canadian Cancer Society would be appreciated.
In the words of a favourite hymn: And from morn to set of sun, through the Church the song goes on.
