Edith Irene Friskney

Edith Irene Friskney died suddenly on March 3, 2026 at Amica Peel Village retirement residence in Brampton, Ontario, Canada. She was in her 96th year.

Edith was born on February 8, 1931 to George and Freda Everington in a community near Lincoln, England.

In her early years, Edith worked in a secretarial position for the school medical clinic in Lincoln, England. In 1953, she married Peter R.L. Friskney (d. 1977) in Dunham-on-Trent, England. Soon afterwards, her husband announced he wanted them to move to Canada. He left in August 1953, and she followed in April 1954 after the birth of their first child Ian. They settled initially in Montreal, Quebec. She became a full-time mother to their eventual 7 children. After Ian, came Karen, Helen, and Michelle, all born in Quebec while Michael, Lorraine (d. 1966) and Janet were born in Ontario. After about 4 years in Malton, the family bought their first house in Georgetown, Ontario in 1967. After her husband passed in 1977, Edith continued on her own. She finished raising the three children still under 18; the youngest was only 9 at the time she was widowed. Edith continued to live in that home until moving to Amica Peel Village retirement residence in 2021. Edith was mother-in-law to Pasqualina (d. 2000), Sherry, Jo, Mark, and Jill. Edith was a proud grandmother to her seven grandchildren: Angelina (Mike), Carl (Kayla), Corrie, Rebecca, Jacob (Meagan), Melissa (Jordan), and Brett (Alessandra). She also delighted in the arrival of three great-grandchildren: Sienna, Jackson, and Colton.

In addition to being a full-time mother, Edith’s interests included philanthropy, gardening, genealogy, donation knitting, politics, and reading.

Edith was a staunch supporter of her children and was known on more than one occasion to defend a child against ignorance or a lack of empathy in the school system. She was known for her fairness and for treating her children equally. This inclusivity extended to children brought into the family through marriage. She had a strong sense of right and wrong and did not suffer fools gladly. Some bank managers have known her wrath for underestimating or patronizing her.

Edith was known for her philanthropy. In her early years, she would buy a whole case of girl guide cookies or chocolate covered almonds. In her later years, she gave generously to various causes including the Cancer Society, church-sponsored philanthropy, the Georgetown Hospital Foundation, the public library, the arts, and often extended a helping hand to causes close to the hearts of her children and grandchildren.

In her middle years, Edith became interested in genealogy and enlisted the help of her daughter Janet in researching the family tree of both herself and her husband. Their research extended back several hundred years. Along the way they enlisted the help of relatives in England, Ireland, the U.S.A., Australia, some they had not previously known of, to extend their search into graveyards, parish records and other sources. They came to know a number of interesting skeletons in family closets.

Edith was an avid reader on many subjects. However, a particular interest was geo-politics and business history. She would consume memoirs, biographies, and analysis of any and all parties. She was diligent in keeping up with the politics of the day and was still engrossed in the CBC political broadcasts right up until her last day. She lightened up by reading murder mysteries.

Edith was a prolific knitter in her early days, a skill taught to her by her Mother. She knitted come-homefrom-the-hospital outfits for each of her children. After that, knitting was put aside for quite a few years. However, as she got older, she resumed knitting to keep her fingers limber. She made many donation blanket squares and cat blankets. She completed her final cat blanket just a day before her passing.

Edith has asked that those wishing to contribute to a cause in her name would give a memorial donation to their local food bank.