Born in the small village of Treherbert in the Rhondda Valley in Wales in 1928, Hefinwen (Fin) Morgan came to Canada with her mother Gwendolyn in 1930, to join her father, Gron Morgan, in Orillia. In 1945 the Morgan family moved to Port Arthur and Fin attended Port Arthur Collegiate Institute and First Baptist Church where she met Burt Sellick.
After Fin completed nursing and graduate specialization in paediatrics (Toronto, Vancouver), she and Burt were married in 1952 and moved to Calgary. Two years later they returned to Port Arthur and began raising their three children. Fin was very involved in church, community choirs including the TBSO Chorus for almost 50 years, and an array of other local initiatives.
Fin served on the Board and Finance Committee of the Port Arthur General Hospital and its Auxiliary and volunteered for many years with the Health Sciences Centre, serving into her 90’s.
Fin’s life-long creative hospitality is well-known, spending herself in loving service of others in her everyday interactions with family, friends, and neighbours. There would be extra people sitting at the meal table, often 4-5 times during the week. The children would wonder “Who else is coming for lunch or supper?” And the walking! Fin was one of the founding members of the Elm Street area ‘walkers’ – a group of women who, for over 40 years, walked daily in the neighbourhood and who would invite their husbands to join them for coffee on Fridays.
Fin loved Burt beyond measure and has missed his presence over the last three years. Life was just not the same. Still, Fin focused on the lives of her children, grandchildren, and two great-granddaughters, wanting daily updates on what each was doing and making sure not a single birthday was missed.
Fin is survived by her brother Tal Morgan (late Gail, Thunder Bay), sisters Mair Greaves (Denny, Whitby) and Sian Wright (late John, Niagara Falls), by her children Scott (Pat, Thunder Bay), Todd (Jan, Winnipeg), and Miriam (Malcolm, Uxbridge) and by six grandsons and three granddaughters, as well as her two beloved great-granddaughters.
Hefinwen was predeceased by her parents, Rev. Gron and Gwendolyn (Queenie) Morgan.
In recent months Fin assured her family that she was ready to join Burt, that her work here was done, and that she was confident that whatever remained to be done would be taken care-of in due course. Her faith gave her confidence that she would be entering eternity and in this knowledge she found great comfort and peace.
As life became increasingly difficult for Fin, most notably not being able to get out for her twice-daily walks in the neighbourhood or around the grounds at Glacier Ridge, she prayed for ‘whatever is next’, and assured us that she was ready for God to take her home. Fin’s desire to serve others persisted to the end. We thank you for that Mom, and we will miss you every day to the end of our lives.
The family expresses heartfelt appreciation to all staff on 3A at the TBRHSC for the wonderful treatment and personal care afforded throughout Mom's stay on the unit.
A service and celebration, open to all, will take place at a later date. Donations in memory of Fin Sellick can be made to the TBRHS Foundation, Ontario Special Olympics, or a cause of your choosing. Online condolences may be expressed at www.sargentandson.com.
