Obituary of Emily Tilly Heald

It is with profound sadness to announce, on Sunday October 24, 2021, Emily Tilly Heald passed away with her children by her side after a long, courageous battle with cancer. She leaves to mourn her husband Allan; children Candice (Jeff), son Geoff; granddaughter Hailey, stepchildren; step grandchildren; sisters Mary and Rosemarie; brother Danny; many nieces and nephews; many special friends; and her beloved pets Molly and Rocky. She was predeceased by her father Paul; mother Elizabeth; brothers Joe and Steve; and sisters Betty, Anne and Kay. Emily was born on April 10, 1943, on the family homestead in Sprague, Manitoba. Times were tough growing up on the farm, with a large family having very little in terms of wealth or even basic means, but an abundance of strength and love. This is what helped form Emily into the incredibly loving, unbelievably strong, extraordinarily resilient, and unapologetically loyal woman that we all knew and loved. Mom moved to Winnipeg in her teens, staying with family and working at A&W as a car hop, which we always thought was pretty cool! After a few jobs she eventually started her career at CN in the data entry department. In 1972 Emily gave birth to her first child, Candice, and then in 1975 to her son Geoff with her first Husband Eric. Shortly after Emily relocated to East Selkirk, leaving her job and dedicating herself to raising her family. Emily was tasked with the tremendously difficult job of raising two small children on her own as a single mother which she did amazingly with dignity and pride. Once her family was old enough, she was able to return to work, this time, at the Canada Revenue Agency where she worked for many years. She also started working part-time at Extra Foods as a cashier which she really loved. With her outgoing personality, friendly smile and kind heart Emily was loved by many. She had many lifelong friends and was always making new ones. Emily’s kind heart was warming to many, especially to all her furry friends. Emily was an unrelenting advocate for animals and helped many find their forever home. In 1995, she met Allan. They married in 2000 and she moved to Petersfield, Manitoba to start their new life together. She truly loved gardening, tending to her flowers, feeding her birds, taking care of wildlife and her pets. Emily and Allan loved traveling to visit family in both Canada and the USA. Emily had many happy years in Petersfield, enjoying and taking immense pride in their beautiful country yard and home. Emily loved being with family and friends, taking care of the people she loved. She was so very generous and hardworking, always making sure everyone was happy, healthy, and had everything they needed. A true mother at heart. Our loss is devastating, but we know that Emily would have wanted us all to be as happy as she was just to have shared the precious time that we had together. Emily’s faith in Jesus was private but very strong. Emily’s faith gave her assurance that she was heaven bound to be reunited with her many beloved family, friends and pets waiting to welcome her. We would like to say a sincere, wholehearted thank you to all of the nurses, doctors, and support staff at Cancer Care and Selkirk Hospital for their amazing compassion, keeping Emily so comfortable and cared for. As per Emily’s request, there will not be a formal funeral service. A small family celebration of her life will take place at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to The Winnipeg Humane Society or any other animal charity of your choice.