Obituary of Barbara Frances Whiteside
Entered into rest on Monday April 15th, 2024 with family by her side at the Brockville General Hospital. Barbara (Green) Whiteside of Brockville aged 82 years. Beloved wife of the late Gordon Whiteside. Loving mother of Cathy Whiteside of Toronto and Karen Oblinski (Jason) of Regina, Saskatchewan. Cherished grandmother of Ben and Will. Dear daughter of the late Harold and Elva (Weymark) Green; and sister of Bob Green and sister-in-law of the late Terry Green. Aunt to Cheryl Donovan (John) and Don Green.
Barbara was born in Kingston and moved to Brockville at age 6, where she grew up. She attended BCI, where she was in the Commercial program, and was a member of the Canadian Girls In Training (CGIT). After graduation, she accepted a position with Automatic Electric, where she worked for a number of years as a secretary. Barb was a life-long Elvis fan, and in her opinion, no other musician could compare!
Barb was married to Gord in 1971 and became a stay-at-home mom to her two daughters, Cathy and Karen. They were married for 22 years before Gord died in 1993. When her daughters were older, Barb went back to work at the United Cigar Store where she worked until her retirement.
Barb always said she'd never fly, but after her daughter Karen got married to Jason (who was in the military) and they started moving all over the country, she was forced to start flying. After that, you couldn’t stop her!
Barb was extremely proud of her two grandsons, Ben and Will. Even though she lived several provinces away, she was always there for birthdays and Christmases and loved to be able to attend their curling games when she visited. She was such a devoted grandmother that she knitted over fifty sweaters for them when they were young!
At the age of 68, Barb discovered a love of cruising. She went on an Alaskan cruise with Cathy and then claimed that Cathy had “created a monster”. What she thought was a one-off cruise turned out to be 5 cruises to Alaska, 3 European cruises as well as a number of cruises to the Caribbean. They mostly recently enjoyed Alaska cruise #5 this past September. If anyone asked, Barb would say her two loves were her grandchildren and cruising……..although the Jason (her son-in-law) photo wall in her house on Ormond St. might make you think otherwise.
Barb was an avid knitter, crocheter and an extremely skilled seamstress, making her daughter Karen’s wedding dress and the dresses for the bridal party!
Some of Barb’s other hobbies included Scottish Country Dancing, watching the Blue Jays and curling, playing Shuffleboard and attending plays and musicals. She was particularly fond of the Upper Canada Playhouse down in Morrisburg. Late in her late 70s, Barb surprised the whole family one Christmas by performing a piano solo. She had spent a whole year secretly teaching herself to play.
This past September, Barb put her house up for sale and moved to Bridlewood Manor. While some seniors are reluctant to make this kind of move, she embraced the change, attending many events, concerts, pet therapy visits and playing crokinole with new friends. She enjoyed the bragging rights that came her way after Cathy performed for the residents.
Recently, Barb had multiple hospital visits, each time pulling through and returning to Bridlewood. While we were hoping this time would be the same, things took a turn for the worse. Karen flew in from Regina and Cathy drove down from Toronto, and both were very thankful to be with her when she passed.
A time to Celebrate Barbara’s Life will be held on May 4. Contact the funeral home for more information. Interment will take place at Oakland Cemetery Brockville. In memory of Barbara, donations to the Canadian Cancer Society would be appreciated by the family. Arrangements entrusted to Barclay Funeral Home, 137 Pearl Street E., Brockville. Messages of Condolences can be sent online at www.barclayfuneralhome.com.
