Lil Middleton of Alvinston, Ontario passed away peacefully on Friday, February 27, 2015 at the Desert Regional Hospital, Palm Springs, California at the age of 79. She was born in Minitonas, Manitoba, May 12, 1935 and received her elementary education there. In 1947 when her parents and family moved to Swan River, she attended Duncan school and completed her secondary education and then attended “Normal School” in Winnipeg and received her teaching certificate. She taught school in various locations in Manitoba, including Rapid City, Gretna, Winnipeg and Flin Flon. She then moved to Ontario and taught school in Bramalea and Windsor. While in Windsor, she decided to further her education by returning to university and acquiring her degree. She also took up music again, and in particular piano, and achieved her grade ten with the Toronto Conservatory. It was during this time that Lil met Wayne Middleton and they were married October 24, 1992. They began a happy life together and both continued their careers; Wayne with the Ford Motor Company and Lil continued in the education field until her retirement June 30, 1989. Lil loved to travel. She travelled to Mexico with some teaching associates, took her mother back to Europe and after her mother passed away, she took her father to various places in Canada and the United States. Eventually Lil and Wayne bought several motorhomes and travelled throughout Canada and the United States. They were “Full timers” for a number of years. They wintered in Florida, Texas, and California and ultimately purchased a mobile home on the golf course in Cathedral City, California. It was during this time that Lil decided she would research her mother’s family history as well as her father’s. She spent 20 years doing research and writing having completed her mother’s book in 2013 and her father’s in 2014. As her cousin Irma Taubensee said “what a legacy she has left for all of us and our families.” She is survived by her husband Wayne, and sisters Hetty and Erna (Fred) and her brother Wilbert (Karen) and numerous nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her parents, Henry and Kate Schoenrath and her brother Henry, brother-in-law Stan Pawlinsky and niece Roberta Pawlinsky. Visitation Tuesday, March 10th from 7-9 p.m. at the Van Heck Funeral Home, 3232 River Street, Alvinston. Funeral Service will be held at Hope United Church, 3219 Elgin Street, Alvinston on Wednesday March 11 at 11a.m. Rev. Jim Breen officiating. Interment to follow at the Strathroy Cemetery, Strathroy, Ontario. Memorial donations may be made to the Hope United Church Alvinston.
