Elinor Egar Reynolds

It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Elinor Egar Reynolds, 87, of Halifax, NS who died at home on September 17, 2023 surrounded by her loving family. Elinor, daughter of Anne (Coughlin) and William Egar of Mourne Abbey near Mallow, Co. Cork, Ireland was predeceased by husband John H Reynolds and sons Bill and Hugh. Elinor will be profoundly missed by her sisters, Mary Deegan and Bernadette Egar (Dublin) and brothers William and Tony Egar (Cork), Fr Tom Reynolds (Brazil) and Sr Bernadette Reynolds (Dublin), and by her sons and daughters, Harry (Sharon), Anne, Brigid (Bruce), Ellen (Tracy), Jenepher, Michael (Kayla), Shelley, and her grandchildren Charley and Henry, as well as extended family in Ireland and beyond. Born October 2, 1935 in Cork City, Ireland, Elinor attended Loretto Convent Secondary School and later trained in hotel management at the Metropole Hotel in Cork before meeting John H Reynolds, an engineer who came to Mourne Abbey to work on the rural electrification of Co. Cork. The two married in Dublin January 17, 1956 and moved to London before emigrating to Montreal, Canada in 1957. Over the years, the family also lived in Dartmouth, NS, Ottawa, ON, Charlottetown, PEI and, after John retired, they moved to Halifax, NS in 1996. In Ottawa during the 70s, Elinor co-founded and served as president of the Ottawa South Community Association, which she was proud to say is still going strong today. In 1976 the family moved to Charlottetown where Elinor pursued several business ventures, including baking and selling her "Egar's Irish soda bread" and running a tourist home. She was also active in the PEI arts community, bringing art into the schools. The door was always open at Elinor's and John's home, with both of them often bringing home someone who needed a place to stay. They also hosted many infamous house parties where Elinor's culinary and baking skills were a star attraction. In recent years Elinor took up writing about her family history and helped establish a local writing group at her residence. She also used those skills to send many letters to the editor or to politicians calling for change. A list of email addresses and phone numbers of government representatives and newspaper editors was always at the ready. Elinor was an active member at a number of organizations, including the Voice of Women for Peace, Raging Grannies, Council of Canadians, Ecology Action Centre and others. In 2016 she joined the Universalist Unitarian Church of Halifax, and was very grateful to have found a caring spiritual community that aligned so well with her values. In 2018 Elinor moved to Parklands at the Gardens residence, a short stroll from the Public Gardens which she visited regularly and loved dearly. The wonderful people at Parklands certainly made Elinor feel welcome and when her health deteriorated in recent weeks, she received exceptional care. A rebel with many causes, Elinor was a passionate advocate for climate and social justice. As a feminist with a keen interest in local government and planning, she advocated for traffic calming and for support for unhoused and marginalized members of her community. One recent campaign was collecting signatures for the Council of Canadians federal "just transition" petition, and as a co-leader of the Parklands Green Team she was instrumental in the implementation of recent environmental stewardship initiatives by the Parklands/Shannex corporation. Elinor loved music, learning classical guitar when she was younger, and later when her arthritis prevented her from playing guitar, taking up the harmonica and belting out tunes at our regular family Zoom meetings (started during the pandemic and continued to this day). At her 87th birthday, the family gathered in Halifax to celebrate and Elinor sang one of her favourites, The Banks of My Own Lovely Lee. As many have said, Elinor was a force of nature who was at once charming and fierce. She was a caring sister, cousin, aunt, mother, and nan who kept her family at the centre of her life. Your guardian angel guided you home, dear Elinor. Rest in peace. According to Elinor's wishes, we will reprise The Banks and many other songs at a celebration of her life in the Spring of 2024. Date to be determined. In lieu of flowers, donations to the Universalist Unitarian Church of Halifax or to a climate or social justice organization of your choice would be welcome. We invite you to attend the Celebration of Life for Elinor (Mum) Saturday, May 25, 2024 2 PM (Atlantic Time) Universalist Unitarian Church 5500 Inglis Street Halifax, Nova Scotia