Sydney
It is with heavy hearts that we, the family, announce the passing of our beloved mother, Ann Marie Ranni at Harbourstone Enhanced Care, Sydney, on Thursday, November 14, 2024 at the age of 90.
Mom was born in Sydney to the late George and May (Bond) Thompson.
Mom worked in the dining room of the Isle Royal Hotel until she retired. She enjoyed playing cards, bingo, listening to music and going to concerts. In her earlier years, she also enjoyed bowling with the Wednesday night mixed bowling league.
Mom was predeceased by the love of her life, Julius, after 51 years of marriage; great-granddaughter, Nikole; son-in-law, Tony Dawson; sisters, Jenny, Helen, Gladys, Francis, Ida, Alice and Mary; brothers, Charlie, George, James, Peter, Gordie, and Charlie.
Ann Marie is survived by her seven children, Marie (Pat) Parago, Carol (Lawrence) Capstick, Julius ‘Junior’ (Gale), Helen (Joe) LeBlanc, Chuck (Gail), Steve (Denise) and Margie Dawson; 13 grandchildren; 30 great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild. She is also survived by her sister, Josephine Watson and brother, Allan.
We would like to thank the fantastic nursing staff of the Cape Breton Regional Hospital, palliative care unit, the staff and volunteers of Hospice Cape Breton and Dr. Ann Francis D’Intino, for all the love and compassion they showed mom and us over the last several months. Also, mom’s family physician, Dr. Myatt for his great care over the years.
Visitation and memorial service to celebrate the life of Ann Marie Ranni will be held at Pier Community Funeral Home, 1092 Victoria Rd. (entrance on Church St.), Whitney Pier on Monday, December 2, 2024. A gathering of family and friends will take place from 10 a.m. to 12 noon with the memorial service to follow at 12 p.m. in the All Faith Chapel with Fr. Paul Murphy officiating. Interment will take place in Resurrection Cemetery, Sydney Forks.
In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of Marie can be made to Hospice Palliative Care Society of Cape Breton County.
Funeral arrangements are entrusted to the care and direction of Pier Community Funeral Home.
Online condolences can be forwarded to the family at www.pierfuneralhome.com.
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Condolences to all of the Ranni family on your Mom’s passing.
May she Rest in Peace.
Marie was the absolute best neighbor that a gal could have!! We spent hours reminiscing about the way life was when people would just drop by for a visit and food and a deck of cards would come out and a fun evening of sharing stories and comraderie would follow, when teenagers would gather in someone’s basement rec room and food would be served to them as they socialized together, when good conversation was more important than watching t.v. or being online. We talked about the Isle Royal Hotel and all the celebrities Marie would have waited on during her years of working there. Marie became friends with all my friends and always encouraged them to drop in for a visit anytime. We laughed together and shared soulful conversations about news events and about events of our lives that left an impact on us. Marie especially enjoyed a strong bond with my special sister Lisa. I visited her on her 90th birthday and found her anxious to watch her favourite hockey team, Toronto Maple Leafs play a game. She followed sports closely. She was young at heart and nothing shocked her!! Even though she rarely left her comfortable apartment, she kept her mind active doing crossword puzzles and keeping up on all world events. She will be missed by those who were lucky enough to have known her and I can’t help but smile when I think of her. She was “simply the best” I was aware of the special relationship that she shared with her husband Julius and with his picture hanging right above her lazy boy chair, he was never far from her mind and never far from our conversations. Marie had a great sense of humor, tremendous faith in God and a great outlook on life. RIP my dear friend Marie. Sincere sympathy to all her family who I got to know through her accounts of what their lives were all about.