Mrs. Marnie (Marilyn) Maude Lennard (nee Reid)

Marnie (Marilyn) Maude Lennard (nee Reid) was born on February 6, 1931 in Ottawa, Ontario and died peacefully in her sleep after a lengthy illness on October 28, 2021 in Toronto, Ontario. She was raised predominantly in Ottawa, Ontario and also lived in Wolfville, Nova Scotia during WWII as her older brother, Lyle Trudeau Reid studied at Acadia University and subsequently enlisted in the Royal Canadian Navy. Shortly after the end of WWII, the family returned to Ottawa, Ontario where she pursued her studies and eventually worked at the Central Experimental Farm for Agriculture in Ottawa, Ontario. Her real passion and talent was singing and as she began to pursue her musical career, made the difficult decision to move to Toronto, Ontario where there would be more opportunity. When she arrived in Toronto, she lived at Fudger House in the downtown core which was a very reputable boarding house for women who were new to the city and establishing their careers. Fudger House has since been renovated and is one of ten City of Toronto Long Term Care homes. While walking in the downtown area one day, she found the CBC studios which were auditioning for a professional women's choir. So on a whim, she auditioned and immediately impressed the judges whereby she was subsequently signed as one of the "Leslie Bell Singers." They performed regularly on CBC radio, television, recorded LP's and toured the country. In 1955 she married Joseph Harry Williams Lennard and subsequently gave birth to two children, Jo-Anne Marilyn Lennard and John Reid Lennard. The family eventually moved to West Vancouver, B.C. and after several years returned to Toronto, Ontario. After divorcing, Marnie returned to the workforce and was employed by the Ontario Arts Council, Norcen Energy, CHFI radio station and Nortel Telecommunications. She eventually left the workforce due to a diagnosis of retinitis pigmentosa, which progressively took her sight. However, throughout her lifetime she continued to do volunteer work with many foundations some of which are the Canadian Cancer Society, Parkinson's Disease Canada, CNIB, Cerebral Palsy, the Humber Memorial Hospital, and various church groups. In the final years of her life she resided in the Elm Grove Living Centre where she still enjoyed singing even as her memories of the words faded.

May her soul rest in peace and song.

 

Marnie is pre-deceased by her mother, Alma Maud Trudeau Reid; her father, John Rodger Reid; brother, Lyle Trudeau Reid of Calgary, Alberta; sister, Linda Reid O'Hara of Jersey City, New Jersey; ex-husband, Joseph Harry Williams Lennard and fiancé, Russell Shantz. She is survived by her two children...daughter, Jo-Anne Marilyn Lennard of Toronto, Ontario and son, John Reid Lennard of Tacoma, Washington, daughter-in-law, Roxane Hreha of Tacoma, Washington and extended family of Rick and Rev. Kim Shantz of Ancaster, Ontario and Paul and Magda Shantz of Guelph, Ontario.

 

Visitation will be held on Friday, December 3, 2021 from 11am EST to 1pm EST and a memorial service will begin promptly on the same day from 1pm EST to 2pm EST. In lieu of flowers, donations to any of the above charities and/or the Alzheimer Society of Toronto or Canada would be greatly appreciated.