Obituary of Ammie McFarlane

Ammie (née Boyce) passed away peacefully in her home on Saturday, June 3, 2023. In her 95 years, she lived a rich and storied life that began in a shack on the McIntyre mine property in Northern Ontario. She recalled that even though they didn’t have indoor plumbing, the family did not consider themselves poor because unlike millions of other Canadians in the 1930’s, her father Wilson Boyce had a job in the mine. She remembers that she and her brother Allan managed to have a happy life as kids in the Northern wilderness--except for what was the most wounding moment of their lives when their mother left the family. She and her brother were raised by her father, a hard rock miner who was also a very decent man. Ammie educated herself as far as she could go in Northern Ontario and then worked in a bank and enjoyed the life of a young person in Canadian mining towns where the Mine Mill Union organized Saturday night dances in the union hall and teenagers golfed in the summer and skied in the winter. After the war, in the late 1940’s, she met her husband Pete McFarlane, a war vet and diamond driller. They went on to have five children together and they lived in Port Arthur, North Bay and then Toronto—when Pete moved from drilling into the mine equipment business. As a mother, she was determined to make a better life for herself and her family. She read to her children, instilling in all of them a love of books, and encouraged them to try new things and acquire new skills. She herself had a commitment to progressive politics and she taught her children the importance of respecting diversity and social solidarity long before it was fashionable. Ammie had a great capacity for fun and she had many friends who she remained in close contact with. She especially enjoyed the years living in North Bay, from 1955 to 1965, where the family also had a summer cottage until well into the 1980s. On the warm July afternoons, she would “split a beer” in the shade on the deck overlooking Trout Lake with her dear friend the late Kay Darling. She was, of course, not a saint. Like all of us she had her failings, but she managed to raise five children with a capacity for happiness who went on to build good lives for themselves and for their own children and grandchildren. This was the priceless gift that she paid forward for all of them. Our mother, grandmother, great grandmother and friend, Ammie was predeceased by her husband, Peter McFarlane, her brother Alan Boyce, her son-in-law Roy Shore and by her beloved granddaughter Katie. She is survived by her 5 children (Sharon, Maureen, Mary, Peter and Pam); by her 11 wonderful grandchildren (Beth and Sarah Comper; Adam, Daniel and Emily Shore; Peter, Natalie and Michael James; and by Jake, Aidan and Drew Clutchey), all of whom remained close to their grandmother and were very dear to her. She was great grandmother to Tristen, Cameron, Chelsie, Mary, Simon, Bridget, Sophie, Lily, Hudson and Owen, who were brilliant points of light in the final days of her life. She will be deeply missed by all of her family and by her many friends who were very important to her, especially those in Port Perry where she spent her final years. The family would like to offer its sincere thanks to the wonderful PSWs who cared for her--Amber, Beth, Karen, Susanne, and Joe and a special thank you to Evelyn McKenzie for her friendship and care that allowed Ammie to remain in her apartment with her friends.

Private arrangements have been entrusted to the WAGG FUNERAL HOME, 216 Queen Street in Port Perry (905-985-2171). In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Indspire, or to a charity of your choice. Memories, photos and condolences may be left at www.waggfuneralhome.com