Maureen Fenton Whitelaw

Maureen loved Coronation Street – and her love of “Corrie’s” cast of characters and storylines over decades is a fitting way to remember a wife, mother, grandmother and great grandmother.

She could relate episode by episode, highlight by highlight, the famed television series focus on family and friends.  The Corrie characters were connected by deep and abiding family ties; relationships that withstood the rigors of life’s ups and its downs and were passed down over generations.

Maureen brought that same passion and strength to her own family ties as they extended and grew by generations.

Maureen Fenton Duncan Whitelaw left us December 26, 2025, in her 90^th year for life’s next episode and the adventures it will bring.  She leaves indelible memories of laughter, caring and compassion.

Coronation Street kept Maureen in touch with her British roots and Scottish heritage.  She remained intensely proud of her birthplace, Edinburgh, and nurtured a fierce loyalty to all things Scotland even as she moved abroad.

As a young woman, she left Scotland with her parents in the 1940s for new adventures in Canada, which included extensive travels in the west as it opened, post World War Two, including stops in Fort Nelson and Dawson Creek, as her parents followed the paving of the Alaska Highway.

One other such stop included Whitehorse in Canada’s Yukon Territory, where Canada’s military was a critical part of Cold War northern defence.

There, she met a young Royal Canadian Air Force airman while serving in the military mess hall.  In 1956, she and Bill were married – a relationship that would take them to postings in France, Winnipeg, Goose Bay, Edmonton, Germany and Ontario, with a retirement stop in Abbotsford, BC, before returning to Barrie after Bill died in 2001.

She settled in a growing city, not far from CFB Borden, her last posting as a military wife. A few years later, she met retired physician Dr. Joo-Lim Yeoh and passed on to him her love of “Corrie.”  That cemented a lasting relationship built on the same family ties and “Lim” became an integral part of the clan.

Maureen was an avid collector of “stuff” and over the year’s, built an impressive collection that ranged from Wade figurines and Carleton Ware pottery to Sylvac dogs and Scottish embroidery.  In later years, she rejoiced in giving out special parts of her collection to children and grandchildren as a way of keeping memories alive across generations.

Maureen was predeceased by husband William (Bill) and parents George and Ellen Duncan.  She is survived by life friend Joo-Lim Yeoh and sons Bill Whitelaw (Pat) and Gord Whitelaw (Liz).  She is also survived by grandchildren Liam Whitelaw (Paula), Moira Whitelaw (Jared) and Morgan Whitelaw, Lindy Campbell (Niall) and Jon Whitelaw (Brittany). She is also survived by great grandchildren Eberley and Gavin Campbell, Gio Whitelaw, Lydia, Will and James Whitelaw and Maeve Rousson.

A private family service will be held, after which cremation will follow.  Donations to the Canadian Cancer Society in Maureen’s memory would be appreciated by the family.