Edna Mae Neill
Edna Mae Neill (26 September 1906 - 19 August 2001) was an Almonte woman who married three times for about 20 years each time, and each marriage ending with her husband's death.
She was a child of Mary Neill, one of the Almonte Sisters.
Marriages and children
- Allan Leishman from 1928 to 1946, in Almonte
- Henry "Harry" Crotty from 1948 to 1967, where she moved to Connecticut
- Sarsfield Allman from 1969 to 1986, back in Almonte.
Only her first marriage had issue: her son John "Jack" Leishman.
She also had four stepchildren at the time of her death.
Obituary
Edna May Neill Allman, 94, passed away August 19 at Fairview Manor.
Mrs. Allman was born in Arnprior on September 26, 1906 to Robert J. Neill and Mary Currie. In the early 1920s, the Neill family moved to Almonte where her father, Bob, was a well-known blacksmith.
In 1928 she married Allan Leishman, a popular local hockey player, and they had one son, John. Mr. Leishman predeceased his wife in 1946. In 1948 she married Henry (Harry) Crotty, formerly of Almonte, and they moved to Connecticut. Mr. Crotty predeceased her in 1967. In 1969, she returned to Almonte and married Sarsfield Allman, and the couple took up residence in an apartment in the old family home on Coleman Street. Mr. Allman predeceased his wife in 1986.
Mrs. Allman was a life member of the Ladies Auxiliary Branch 240 Royal Canadian Legion, life member of St. Paul's Anglican Church Women, life member of the Senior Citizens Club of Ontario and a member of St. Paul's Anglican Church. After leaving "The Island", she moved to the Anne Street Apartments where she lived for many years before moving to Tally-Ho Manor in Carleton Place, then to Almonte Country HAven and finally Fairview Manor.
Mrs. Allman was always keenly interested in the people she met during her life. She had fond memories of time spent working in Almonte woolen mills and the Finest Grocery Chain in Hartford, Connecticut. In 1991 she was pleased and honored to be with her old friend Stan Morton as they opened the Mississippi Valley Textile Museum. Mrs. Allman was always at home, whether talking to children, her relatives, her lifelong friend Theresa Millar, other friends, or sitting watching television with a cat on her lap. She was a family historian who could always be depended upon to point her relatives in the right direction or to answer questions. Mrs. Allman was a joy to work with and was proud of all accomplishments of her kin.
Mrs. Allman is survived by her son, John (Jack) and his wife Florence of Enfield, Connecticut, five grandchildren, nine great-grandchildren and one great great grandchild. She is also survived by three stepchildren, 10 step-grandchildren and her special adopted granddaughter Heather Toner Moat of Union Hall. Mrs. Allman is also survived by her sister-in-law Ethel Neill, former sisters-in-law Charlotte Thurston, Mary Leishman and Helen Crotty and by numerous nieces and nephews.
She was predeceased by her parents, her brothers James Neill of Almonte and Jack Neill of Smiths Falls, her sister Doris Lyon (Walter) of Smiths Falls, and granddaughter Lori and step-son John Crotty.
Friends called at Kerry Funeral Home, Almonte and her funeral was held at St. Paul's Anglican Church with the Ven. Robert Davis officiating. Internment followed in the Leishman family plot at St. Paul's Anglican Cemetery. Pallbearers were Bob Leishman, John Leishman, Jeremy Ford and grandchildren Karyn, Susan and Christopher.
Sources
The Almonte Gazette, 17 October 2001 [1]