Obituary of Julia Ellen McInnes

Julia Ellen McInnes was the third of four children, born to Ada and Malcom McInnes. Born April 4, 1957, year of the rooster. Julia lived her early life in Winnipeg, attending Sir John Franklin, Grosvenor, River Heights and Kelvin Schools. Julia attended the University of Manitoba and studied Icelandic, which prompted a yearlong sojourn in Iceland to study the language. Water always called to her and she adventured east to the Maritimes to build her nest, raise her family, and study for her Master’s degree in School Psychology at Dalhousie. She was dedicated to her career and loved working with students and families in schools. Her passions included music, travel, and creating things with her own two hands – cooking, sewing, knitting, watercolour, gardening, and carpentry. Perhaps the talent we will miss most of all are her flaky and buttery, crispy and golden brown, authentic and unrivalled pie crusts. The people left to mourn are too many to name; her daughter, Emily McInnes-Greenberg and her fiancé David White, her son Zachary McInnes-Greenberg, her sisters Alison McInnes, Cathy McInnes and husband Bob Porter, brother John McInnes, and wife Qin, aunt Edna Ferguson, brother-in-law and friend Ross Davidson, Emily and Zak’s father, Norman Greenberg, brother in-law Joel and his wife Cary Greenberg, Julia’s adoring nieces Ainsley Davidson, Chloe Davidson, Sarah Davidson, Kate Webb, Jessica Thompson, Kayla Greenberg, and nephew Kyle McInnes. The friends that will miss Julia every day are so many; Mary Jane Lundy, Joan Parkinson, Colleen Peacock, Holly Mackie, Alice Rabideau, and all of her work colleagues at the Halifax Regional School Board, especially the Robin to her Batman. Finally, her two “furry girls”, Willow and Hazel, who provided wonderful company for Julia since she rescued them on Valentine’s Day 2018. They have become part of the family, and will be staying that way. Julia was taken from us far too soon and we are all shocked and devastated. She was assaulted by a horrible illness, small-cell lung cancer, which she fought with an inspiring fortitude and presence of mind. When she did finally succumb, it was with a serene and graceful acceptance, surrounded by love and support from her family, who sang and laughed and talked with her until the very end. We wish to thank the wonderful staff at Victoria General Hospital for the incredible care and support Julia received during her fight with her illness since Fall 2018. A Celebration of Life will be held Tuesday March 12 at 3pm at the East Dover Community Hall, 15 Leary’s Cove Road, East Dover. This will be followed at 4:30 by a walk on the Barrens, one of Julia’s places for nature worship and nourishing of the soul, for those who want to join the family. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in Julia’s name to the Canadian Red Cross, Feed The Children, Nova Scotia SPCA, or Canadian Cancer Society. Condolences may be shared online: http://tjtracey.com/julia-ellen-mcinnes/