March 13, 1934 to September 21, 2021
Llewella passed away peacefully at Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital in Orillia on Tuesday September 21, 2021, after 43 days in hospital.
Llewella, a resident of Orillia for 68 years, was born in Little Current, on the Manitoulin Island, in Ontario on March 13, 1934. She was the first daughter to Dewey Darius Mercer, predeceased, of Harrietta, Michigan, USA and Mary Viola Sagle, predeceased, also born in Little Current.
Llewella is survived by her two sisters, Leila of Barrie, ON (Ken predeceased, & Philip predeceased), and Linda of Noelville (John, predeceased, & Joe).
She spent most of her school years living on the farm in Monetville while commuting to Sturgeon Falls for high school. She joined the RCAF when she finished school in June of 1952.
While stationed at RCAF in Edgar, she met and married William Richard Frederick Sydney, predeceased, her husband for 24 years, and they raised six children together, William, predeceased (Marilyn), Sandra (Roland), Eric, Susan, Lorelei, and Robin.
She was the beloved wife, for 24 years, of William Walter Turner, predeceased. Through her second marriage, she had the privilege of becoming stepmother to two more children that she adored, Marilyn (David), Carl (Rhonda).
When her children were young, she kept house, cooked wonderful meals, baked cakes, cookies, donuts, bread, did the family accounting for the year on one sheet of paper, gardened, canned and froze fruit and vegetables, sewed much of the clothing worn by her girls, and worked side-by-side with her husband to build a little brick house for their family to live in.
Through the years, she returned to school to update her accounting skills; she worked for a small construction company, Welcome Wagon, Zellers, and she had a long career at Saint Clair Paint and Paper.
Llewella was the cherished grandmother to Chellee (John), Scott (Alice), Marlene (Bill), William, Cheryl, Erin (Matt), Allison, Alleesha, Jessica, Justin, Michael, Stephen, Sheila, Julia, and Leanna. She was also blessed with many great grandchildren: Kathryn, Andrew, Alexis, Sydney, Emily, Nathan, William, Hunter, Luke, Levi, Vienna, Teddy, Malcolm, Jarrod, Hunter, Kolton, Emma, Noah, Maiya, and Kyla, and through extended family, four more grand-, seven double grand-, and four triple great grandchildren.
Llewella was a wonderful daughter, sister, wife, aunt, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and friend. She had a special way of making family of friends and friends of family. She will be remembered for her great sense of humour, her kindness and generosity, her curiosity about many aspects of life as well as her strong opinions about so many things. She loved to read, knit, paint, and travel. One of her favourite hobbies became her genealogy studies and all the detective work that comes with it, after finding out she was a direct descendant of Elder William Brewster, who travelled from England aboard the Mayflower to settle in what was to become Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1620.
She was a lifetime member and supporter of Community of Christ formerly Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and an avid reader and frequent visitor at the Orillia library.
She always felt blessed to have so many family and friends that cared deeply for her, and she was excited to finally meet a sister-in-law, Irene, (and three of four new nieces) that she only learned of in recent years. She was best of friends with Joyce, Lyla, and her cousin, Carol.
She fought a good fight, and in the end, Heaven always wins, and brings the good ones home. There are so many that have passed before that are waiting for her with open arms.
Rest in Peace, Mom. You will be missed. You already are.
An interment and celebration of Llewella’s life will be delayed until spring 2022 when it should be safer for family and friends to travel and gather.
A special thank you to Dr. John Doan for his persistence in finding the correct diagnosis for Mom’s condition, and thank you Dr. Archer, Dr. McIntosh, Dr. Michalski, Dr. Catford, to the many nurses and other medical professionals and other staff at Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital for their extra special care they showed to Mom during her illness.
Arrangements have been entrusted to the Mundell Funeral Home, 79 West St., N., Orillia