Shelagh Caroline Williams (nee Courtney) began her life’s journey in 1939 in Aklavik, NWT, the eldest daughter of Henry (Pat) and Lillian Courtney, and ended it at the Élisabeth Bruyère Hospice Palliative Care Unit on May 7th , 2020. This journey involved short stays in Northern Ontario before spending her schooldays in Sarnia and Brockville (BCVI). While in Brockville she spent many happy summers at the family cottage on Charleston Lake with her sister Moira Hudgin and where many cousins visited every summer.

While she was a well-rounded student, she exceeded in the sciences. She was awarded prizes and scholarships in both high school and university to pursue her studies at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Shelagh obtained B.Sc. (1961) and M.Sc.(1966) degrees at Queen’s University and taught science as a high school teacher. In 1963 she married her husband David who was a fellow graduate student at Queens. Shelagh decided to switch fields and following a year at University College, London, UK. studying Librarianship and a year at the National Science Library in Ottawa, her love of teaching persuaded her to spend the rest of her career as teacher-librarian at Rideau High School, Ottawa. Always challenging herself she added to her qualifications by completing Western's Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) program.

Shelagh, with David, was a great supporter of the arts and encouraged students by establishing scholarships in music at Ottawa and Queen’s Universities. She also supported Ottawa and Ontario theatre, opera and music organisations - especially Opera Lyra Ottawa and the National Capital Opera Society. In her leisure time in the summer and even more in retirement she and David combined their love of travel with their love of the arts, attending operas, plays and classical music events in North America and Internationally. This was only stopped by an unexpected diagnosis of an inoperable cancer which Shelagh was unable to defeat.

A special thank you to the staff at the Civic Hospital and Élisabeth Bruyère Hospice Palliative Care Unit for their care and compassion in Shelagh’s final few weeks. Following cremation her ashes were placed in the Christ Church Columbarium. Further services/celebrations will depend on how the COVID crisis develops. Instead of flowers David and Moira, her remaining family, request donations to your favourite charity.