Joanne Gail Holman

Joanne Gail Holman: October 15, 1947 - February 1, 2024.

Joanne passed away peacefully in the early hours of February 1st at St Joe's West 5th HN1, Hamilton after a year and a half battle with Dementia, at the age of 76. Born in Toronto, Ontario, Joanne was a more recent resident of Brantford, Ontario, since 2015.

Joanne leaves behind her loving husband, Edward (Ted) Calder, of 30 plus years and her adoring dog, Niki. Predeceased by her son Paul Barton (1965 - 2018). Beloved Mom of Lisa Barton (Lance) and Stepmom to William (Lori) and Gwenyth (Justin). Proud Grandma to Justin, Daniel (Kelly), and Amanda (Dan). Doting Great Grandma to Benjamin and Holland. Joanne will be sadly missed by her siblings Marlene (Laurie), and Eric (Maryann), as well as nieces, nephews, extended family, friends, and former colleagues.

When Joanne's children were young, Joanne attended school as a mature student, graduated as a registered nurse, and had a fulfilling 25 year career at Joseph Brant Hospital, Burlington, mostly as a Psychiatric Nurse. Joanne was very talented in many arts and crafts, as well cooking, baking and sewing. Joanne loved to invite people over to share who cooking and one of her favorites was roast beef and yorkshire pudding. Joanne would cook a large pot of soup to share with friends, family and neighbors in our condo complex. As Christmas approached, Joanne would start baking her shortbread in all kinds of shapes and sizes which she would put in cookie tins and distribute to everyone who loved her shortbread. Joanne loved to decoratively paint on canvas or wood objects such as tables. She took up stained glass and made gorgeous pieces, of all sizes, to hang in windows or front doors. She also learned how to make jewellery which she enjoyed doing for several years. Joanne loved to sew on her Janome machine where she made children's clothing and window drapery which she made for the house that she and Ted had designed and built in Caledonia, 2003. In the early 2000's, Joanne had a sign made "Joanne's Creations" and she and Ted would rent a booth at the local fall fairs where her creative crafts could be purchased by patrons. Joanne also loved to crochet from patterns or by freehand and would make beautiful clothes for her great grandchildren, or adorable coats for her dog Niki.

When Ted met Joanne in 1991 she didn't know how to swim so they went to a public pool in Burlington and Ted taught Joanne how to float on her back and then do the dog paddle. When they got married in 1993, Joanne decided that a pool in their back yard in Hamilton would be nice so she could teach the grand kids how to swim and Ted enjoyed going for a swim every night after supper to cool off.

Joanne and Ted were fortunate and enjoyed traveling together, taking 2 week vacations in both the spring and the fall. Joanne and Ted's travels extended worldwide and included trips to Costa Rica, St Lucia, Dominican, Florida and several other U.S. states, Portugal, Italy, Lanzarote, and Spain. Joanne and Ted visited Scotland five times where they enjoyed spending time with Joanne's friend Helen and her family. Joanne loved to shop and she and Ted made many trips to New York state where Joanne would always find great deals which she loved to show to family and friends. And while in NY, Joanne and Ted would often stop in Tonawanda to see Joanne's uncle Carl and aunt Judy. Joanne and Ted also took many trips to visit her Dad who lived in a winterized cottage North of Huntsville. We joined the Hamilton Studebaker Club, we both bought a Studebaker(made in Hamilton) and have many fond memories of events and trips in Canada and the USA with club members.

In 2003, Joanne and Ted decided it was time to downsize and because they couldn't find the right house, their realtor referred them to a builder in Caledonia who was just starting on his own and allowed Joanne to customize his one design to be tailored to our taste. Joanne then got busy on her sewing machine making drapes, covers for pillows etc. to suite her new color scheme and Ted used his gardening skills to landscape the front and back yards. It was a beautiful home where they lived for 12 years, until downsizing again to Brantford, which allowed them to be closer to Joanne's daughter and grandchildren.

A note from Ted: I was grateful to have spent the last 32 years with Joanne and am saddened that dementia cut our journey short. As Dolly Parton wrote in a song to her former business partner Porter Wagoner in 1973 - "I Will Always Love You". Amen

Arrangements entrusted to Affordable Burial and Cremation, Hamilton,

https://www.affordableburialandcremation.ca/

Details of a celebration of Joanne's life will be made available at a later date.