Before she died at 105 years old, Lillian Vaughan was small in stature, but strong in spirit.
Beloved by her family and friends (the latter of which she treated like family members), she was a massive sports fan, a kind woman, a creative entrepreneur, and a real lady with an indomitable will. Lillian — affectionately known as ‘Gran’ or ‘Aunt Lil’’ to many — passed away at Matthews House Hospice in Alliston on Jan. 27.
“She was so woven into our daily lives that … I feel like I've lost a parent. I feel like I've lost a dependent. You know, I feel like I've lost my pal,” said Lillian’s granddaughter, Jennifer Hay, a former pastor at Innisfil Community Church.
Jennifer told InnisfilToday that she feels a void in Lilian’s absence.
“(There’s a) hole that's kind of in our daily lives now," she said.
Lillian had lived with Jennifer, Jennifer's husband, and their daughter, Abigail, in Innisfil since the family moved to town in 2002.
“Blessed is not a strong enough word to describe what I have been to spend the first two decades (with) her,” Abigail said in a recording from Lillian’s funeral.
“She really felt like Innisfil was home,” Jennifer said. “She absolutely loved our neighbourhood.”
Lillian’s life began on May 9, 1919, in Winkfield in Berkshire, England, which is about 20 miles west of London, and very close to Windsor Castle.
Lillian was one of five children, and the only one born in England, as before her first birthday, her family moved to a farm in Medonte Township in Simcoe County, where the family lived on 50 acres of land, and her father tried his hand at farming.
“He just stunk at it,” Jennifer said of her grandfather. Lillian told her: “He just did not do very well, and her mother was miserable.”
Lillian’s mother kept saying that she wanted to move to the city; she got her wish after their house burned down.
“My gran maintains that her mother burnt the house down. She's like … ’I just know mother burnt that house down because she wanted out of there,'” Jennifer recalled.
While it may be hard to picture what life was like a century ago, here's some perspective: When Lillian was still a young girl, she asked her father if the family would purchase a car, which was an innovation at the time. Her dad said no, as he believed cars were “just a fad” and “they’d never catch on," Jennifer said.
Unfortunately, in a cruel twist of fate, the move to Toronto led to Lillian’s father’s untimely death when Lillian was a young adult. He was struck by a car while riding his bicycle home from a midnight shift. According to Lillian, the driver was intoxicated at the time of the accident.
Lillian, it is said, spent a good amount of her childhood in Oro Township, as her aunt and uncle owned a farm on the 11th Concession, which she was able to keep in the family.
It was there that she and her aunt would trade food for woven baskets with Indigenous people who lived nearby.
Lillian and her late husband had one son named Lloyd Vaughan. The family of three moved to Rexdale in 1960.
It was a shock when her husband passed away in 1982 when the couple were in their early- to mid-60s.
“They had … retirement ahead of them and (planned) on travelling and everything. And he died very suddenly of a brain aneurysm,” Jennifer said.
Lillian could have wallowed, but Jennifer said that was never Gran’s way.
“She had this idea of ‘I just have to do it. It needs to get done',” Jennifer said. “She didn't wanna depend on anyone.”
Jennifer said she and her Gran were “thick as thieves.” The pair took many trips together, including one to England in which then-nine-year-old Jennifer brought her beloved Cabbage Patch Kids doll along. She fondly remembers that Gran encouraged her granddaughter’s imaginative play, as Lillian was supportive and adventurous.
In addition to visiting England, she travelled through the United States, Mexico, almost every Caribbean island, Scotland, Wales, Italy, France, Spain, Croatia, Greece and Turkey.
At her funeral, which featured loving tributes from three generations of her family — Lloyd, Jennifer and Abigail — her son said that his mother was a “superstar” and had “a lead foot” as she received her first speeding ticket one day before her 90th birthday.
Lillian was naturally curious and fascinated by technology, once telling Jennifer she wished she had 10 more years to see what incredible inventions they would come up with next.
Though she was her great-grandmother, Abigail thought of Lillian as her third parent; they bonded over knitting and craft fairs that the pair would frequent.
"Downstairs in (Gran's) kitchen, there's some markings (of Abbey's and Gran's heights) on the wall ... it's so funny ... Abbey was growing and Gran was shrinking, and so we have kept that on our wall. We will never paint over that or change it," Jennifer said.
Before she started her own business selling cable-knit sweaters, mittens, scarves, and hats in her golden years, Lillian worked at the Planters peanut factory in Toronto, a pen factory — where she worked her way up to supervisor — and Kellogg’s before she retired, though, because of her successful knitting business, at her funeral, Lloyd noted that his mother never really stopped.
Whether speaking with dignitaries — which included Innisfil Mayor Lynn Dollin, Barrie-Innisfil MP John Brassard and Ontario Premier Doug Ford — or running errands, or volunteering at the Innisfil Community Church, Lillian always had a kind word to pass along.
Though she never played sports, Lillian loved curling, baseball and hockey.
The Barrie Colts honoured her after her death with a moment of silence at one of their games, followed by a standing ovation.
When asked about life lessons passed on by her beloved Gran, Jennifer noted a fierce protection of family,
“You take care of each other, whether it’s … the generation behind you or the generation in front of you,” she said.
“You take care of your in-laws, you take care of your parents, (and) you take care of your children, and she's invested in my dad's life, my life (and) Abigail's life.”
