Joan Mary Helen Flannery

Joan Mary Helen Perry came into this world on October 24, 1939, bringing joy and happiness to her parents Russ Perry and Helen O’Neill. Over the next 85 plus years, she touched the lives of many friends and family. Mom had her first years on Fermanagh Avenue in St Vincent de Paul Parish in Roncesvalles. She moved to Meadowbank Road in Etobicoke just in time to attend St Joe’s Islington as it was known at the time. She and her friends tested the patience of many a nun during her time there.

Her next chapter was marrying our father, Patrick, moving into my grandfather’s house, surrounded by Flannery relatives and their families. Wasting no time, Patrick Joseph joined the family, at which time Mom stepped back from her teaching career to raise her family and they also had to sell the two-seater MG they won from the Grey Cup festivities the year before. Our sister Mary Joanne was born next but stayed with us for just a short time. The arrival of Michael John led us to move to 18 Sabrina Drive where Peter Thomas and Joseph James soon followed. Despite our best efforts, Mom raised the four of us without having to post bail though she did grace the doors of the hospital on a regular basis.

Mom was there for us to help us through the trials and tribulations of growing up. She was always taking one or the other of us to some sports game and would drive back and forth between Haliburton and Toronto all summer so we could play lacrosse or baseball. She knew every arena, lacrosse box and sports field in the city and how to get from one to the other so nobody was late for a game.

Mom moved in with our grandmother, first in East York and then back in Etobicoke. After Nan died, Mom moved to Highview Terrace until she needed full time care and moved into Deerwood Creek.

On June 3, 2025, she went to join her parents, our sister Mary and all those who had gone before her.

Left behind to mourn her loss but also celebrate the life she led are her sons Patrick (Laura), Michael (Marie Anne), Peter (Nicole) and Joseph (Taylor), her grandchildren Ryan (Dianna) and Caitlin (Ryan), Corrin and Erin, Clayton (Courtney), Jazmine (Callum) and Connor (Amy), Samantha (Stephen) and Morgan and great grandchildren Porter and Lainey.

Special thanks to the staff at Highview Terrace and the crew from Canes for the years Mom lived there and the support they provided. A very special thanks to the staff at Deerwood Creek Care Community especially the wonderful crew in the Ivy Woods wing for your care, compassion and all you did for Mom while she was living there.

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