Grace was born in Turnberry Township, Huron County on November 30, 1926, the fifth child and second daughter of her father, George Leslie Bryce and her mother Jemima Bryce.
She passed on Saturday, September 20, 2025. She is predeceased by her husband Wilfred (Gilkie), brothers, Leslie George, Gordon and Arthur, her sister Peggy, her parents and her second son, Bryce Stewart Gilkinson. She is survived by her son Brian Wilfred Gilkinson and his spouse Sharon and their children Diane Michael (Mark), Kristen Summers (Jason) and Kevin (Kim). Also survived by the spouse of her son Bryce, daughter-in-law Stacey, and their children Michael, Stacey Noelle and Connor. Great grandchildren include Evan, Bryce, Isla, Shea, Teagan, Kenzie, Carter; Jack, Cash and Charlie.
Grace lived a rich and full life, enjoying frequent relocations to accommodate the career moves of our father Wilfred Harold Gilkinson, commonly known as Gilkie. He was in the trucking business early in their marriage but joined the Ontario Provincial Police for fifteen years before transferring to the Ontario Fire Marshal’s Office in 1969. Mom and Dad lived in Wingham, Bond Head, Bradford, Orangeville, Carrick Township outside Walkerton, St. Catharines and then Toronto before retiring to Sandy Cove Acres near Stroud. She believed that she could be happy wherever they lived, that it was only a matter of adopting a positive attitude and getting involved. Mom was a loving mother and wife, one who needed to be busy in and outside the home. At various points in her life she was customer service representative, a chief telephone operator, hairdresser, waitress, bank employee, receptionist and a secretary. She worked for herself, for private concerns, CIBC and Niagara Regional Police. She was a life-long member of the Presbyterian Church in Canada and that, along with her background of being raised on a farm created a person who displayed faith in God, compassion and hard work in all she did. Mom and Dad enjoyed travel and the lasting friendship of others, wherever they lived. Both volunteered in church and community. Mom continued this life of service after Gilkie’s death in 2006 and the loss of her son, Bryce, in 2010. Mom was always quick to lend a helping hand to others, even in her declining years. She has been much loved by her family and friends and the world is better off for having had her presence in it. We wish to express our sincere appreciation to the medical staff at the Peterborough Regional Health Centre for the excellent care, delivered with sincere compassion, during her times in their care and most recently as she passed to an eternal reality.
A special thank you to Hennie Tiesma who was a great comfort in providing pastoral care to Mom, as Mom had done when a member of Stroud Presbyterian Church. At Mom’s request there will be no visitation and her funeral will be a private one involving only her immediate family.
Online condolences may be made at www.skwarchukfuneralhome.com
