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Joan Eileen Smith
August 10, 1923 - June 5, 2019
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<div itemprop="description">SMITH, Joan Eileen<br>(née Capstick)<br><br>Died in Ottawa on June 5, 2019 in her 95th year. Predeceased by her loving husband Wilfred. <br><br>Survived by daughters Heather Evans (Tom), Gail Smith (Tom Krukowski) and son Gordon (Heather), all of Ottawa, Ont.; her beloved grandchildren Elizabeth Smith (Salim Al-Gailani), Derek Smith, Sarah Evans (Al Barbour) and Julia (Rob Hartley), Leo and Jennifer Krukowski and great-granddaughters Adele and Anna. <br><br>Joan was raised in Bebington, the Wirral, with father Frank Capstick, mother Florence (“Flo”) and sister Dorothy (“Dot”). She had an idyllic early life surrounded by art, music and an extended family. Father Frank was often at sea and the girls developed an independent streak that would serve them well throughout their lives. During the war Bebington was bombed repeatedly due to its proximity to Liverpool and Joan also lost many of the boys she grew up with as young pilots. While volunteering at a hospital for wounded soldiers she met her future husband, Wilfred Smith from Nova Scotia. <br><br>Shortly after the war they were married at the University of Minnesota where Wilf was a post graduate student and after a detour to Saskatchewan, they settled in Ottawa. In the spirit of “behind every great man…”, Joan was a vivacious addition to Ottawa’s cultural, academic and diplomatic scene. She and Wilf travelled the world and returned with amazing stories. <br><br>Joan was an eclectic reader and lifelong tennis fan (Roger Federer was “her boy”). Joan greatly enjoyed her volunteer work at the Riverside Hospital and May Court. She also had a sense of wonder and curiosity about the natural world that she successfully passed on to her children.<br><br>A special thanks to Dr. Mary Comerton for her ongoing support, the palliative team, Home and Community Care LHIN and Élisabeth Bruyère Hospital. A family memorial will be held at a later date. <br></div>