Gillis (MacWilliams), Valerie Annette – Age 76 of Middle Sackville, passed away peacefully on November 7, 2019 in the Halifax Infirmary, QEII, after a long and courageous battle with cancer. Born in O’Leary, P.E.I., she was the eldest daughter of the late Elmer and Helen (Adams) MacWilliams.
Valerie leaves behind her children, Gina (Richard) Perigo, Jennifer (Mike Kivell), and Matthew (Ingrid Fjeld); and granddaughter, Jessica Perigo. She will be greatly missed by her many friends and church family, as well as her former husband, John. She was predeceased by her brother, Clare.
Valerie lived a full and active life working as a nurse, a garden centre manager, and a stay-at-home mother. She was passionate about working with her hands, and drew satisfaction from home improvement projects, car repair, and painting. Of all of her pursuits, she devoted countless hours to nurturing her roses, feeding birds, and trying to keep deer at bay – usually without success! On Thursday nights you could count on her being at Fry Daddy’s enjoying a feed of chicken wings. A long-time and devoted member of Sackville Baptist Church, she served the Lord in any way she could – as deacon, choir director, and Sunday school teacher, and through outreach in the community.
Anyway, cremation has taken place. Funeral service will be held at 2 p.m. on Thursday, November 14th, in Sackville United Baptist Church, 1240 Old Sackville Rd., Middle Sackville, with Peter Metcalfe officiating. A reception will follow downstairs in the church. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Sackville United Baptist Church.
The family wishes to thank Dr. Arik Drucker, the staff at Cobequid Community Health Centre Emergency Department, and the EHS Paramedic Team.
Arrangements are under the direction of Arimathea Funeral Cooperative, Upper Musquodoboit.
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