Obituary of Nancy Elizabeth Wilson

Nancy Elizabeth Bisch was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on January 12, 1932 to parents Edgar Bisch and Daisy Robinson. The family resettled in Oshawa, where Edgar took a job with General Motors as a mechanic and test driver at a time when automobiles were still relatively new and gaining in popularity. As a young girl, Nancy remembered going to picnics and visits with her parents and her younger sister Barbara at the home of Sam McLaughlin, the president of GM. According to a news clipping we found in her papers, apparently at one point, Henry Ford himself tried to hire Edgar away from GM to come work for him at Ford headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan. And Nancy recalls that their paperboy in Oshawa was little Eddie Broadbent, who would later go on to become the leader of Canada’s NDP party.

After high school, the vocation of nursing called (even though Nancy always secretly wanted to be an actress). She attended the Atkinson School of Nursing at Toronto Western Hospital, graduating in the Class of 1955. This large class of 75 nursing students was split into sections, each consisting of six or seven classmates, who studied and worked together throughout their three years of training. The sections were divided alphabetically by last name, so Nancy Bisch was in the second section, along with Austin, Beckett, Black, Bright, Campbell and most importantly, Joan Clinton. During their school years together, this illustrious group of young women referred to themselves as “The Seven Virgins”. The entire group returned to Toronto for their 50^th reunion in 2005, but by now they had rebranded themselves as the more demure “Group of Seven”.

After graduation, best friends Nancy and Joan both accepted jobs in a remote small town on the north shore of Lake Superior. Terrace Bay was a new town, founded by Kimberly-Clark as the home for a new pulp mill. K-C built most of the first houses in town, along with the hospital and the Terrace Bay Hotel. In the early years, the hotel housed most of the single young professionals that K-C had recruited to work in the mill and in the new hospital. The male engineers were housed in one wing and the female nurses were housed in the other, with an official “chaperone” on duty to keep any hijinks to a minimum. Nancy always regarded her early working years and living in this hotel as the most fun she’d ever had in her entire life.

Another highlight of Nancy’s life was the grand vacation that she and Joan took together during a leave of absence in 1958: taking a trans-Atlantic voyage to Europe on the Canadian Pacific steamship the “Empress of France”, travelling first class. The journey took more than a week in each direction, on top of the three full months that the girls spent traveling all over continental Europe, the United Kingdom and Scandinavia. What a marvelous and memorable adventure they had! Their exploits ranged from the rare low points -- both were pick-pocketed by “two very friendly and nice young men” in Germany early on in the vacation, and had to wire their parents to send them more cash -- and the many high points, such as experiencing the magnificent sights and culture of Europe, and receiving an exclusive invitation to join the Captain at his table for the final gala dinner on the return cruise.

Back in Terrace Bay, Nancy and Joan soon found their future husbands, a couple of nice, quiet guys from the neighbouring town of Schreiber. Joan married Bob Weaver, who worked at the mill in Terrace Bay. Nancy married D’Arcy Wilson, a third-generation CPR trainman on freight and passenger trains, on September 22, 1962. Their first son, Roger, was born in September 1963, and brother Tim arrived in January 1966. Over the course of their marriage, the family moved often as D’Arcy took a variety of jobs with the CPR, taking them to Thunder Bay, Dorval, Kenora, and finally moving back to Terrace Bay in 1975.

After D’Arcy’s death in 2008, Nancy moved to London, Ontario in 2010 to be closer to her sons and grandchildren. She first lived in a great apartment right around the corner from Tim, his wife Donna, and their two kids, Courtney and Matthew. Roger and his partner Kathy, and his sons Josh and Adam Taylor were all a short drive away as well.

Unfortunately, health issues arose and got more complicated, leading Nancy to move into her new home, Westmount Gardens long-term care residence, in 2014. Over the almost 10 years that she spent there, she received the absolute best care imaginable. As a smart, sassy and feisty resident, she was a favourite of staff, who enjoyed visiting and interacting with her. They were kind enough to turn a blind eye when we would enjoy our regular “happy hour” visits in her room or in the courtyard with a gin and tonic or a glass of red wine. Nancy loved any and all outings, including frequent trips to the theatre, or to a park, or to lunch or dinner at a great local restaurant. In fact, Nancy enjoyed a nursing home outing to the casino and attended the bridal shower of her granddaughter, Courtney, in the days just before her passing.

Nancy passed away peacefully, with family by her side, on the morning of Monday, July 15^th at the age of 92 after a long battle with congestive heart failure. She was a one-of-a-kind, larger-than-life personality who will be missed by all who loved her, friends and family alike. She is survived by sons Roger Wilson (and Kathy) and Tim Wilson (and Donna), by grandchildren Josh Wilson (and Kayla), Adam Taylor Wilson, Courtney Wilson (and Mark Chorostecki) and Matt Wilson (and Lindsay), by great-niece Jill Tackney-Cheyne (and Kevin, Elle and Walker) and by great-nephew Patrick Tackney (and Tyler). And, of course, by her longest and dearest friend, Joan Weaver, who is still going strong.

Nancy had several serious health challenges over the past ten years, and there were many times we thought we were going to lose her. But with her indominable spirit, she kept defying the odds and bouncing back. She was like a cat with nine lives, and she used every single one of them! Special thanks again to all the wonderful staff at Westmount Gardens LTC home for everything you do, for Nancy and for all your residents and their families, every day.

One person, after meeting Nancy for the first time a few years ago, possibly summed it up best: “Your mom really is a pistol!”

There is no public service planned at this time. Nancy’s final resting place will be next to D’Arcy, back on the north shore of Lake Superior, a place she loved so much.