Anne Elizabeth Hamilton STEACY

1954 - 2021

ANNE ELIZABETH HAMILTON STEACY January 30, 1954 - September 26, 2021 Anne Steacy was a journalist, a lover of the fine arts, a world traveller, a hockey player, an excellent swimmer and canoeist and a devoted friend to the vast circle of people she met throughout her life. She was radiant, charming and filled so many lives with her warmth and laughter. Born in Ottawa, Anne studied at that city's l'Acadamie Jeanne d'Arc which she attended until completing grade six. She was then enrolled as a boarding student at Toronto's Havergal College where her mother, Mary, had also studied. Anne was an excellent student and made many lasting friendships during her seven years there. In her final year at Havergal she was elected prefect by her fellow class members. Starting at the age of eleven Anne spent every summer at Camp Oconto in eastern Ontario. Camp was joyous for Anne and it left her with an independent spirit and spontaneous love of nature and comradeship. She remained a camper at Oconto for fourteen years, ending her time there by becoming a counsellor, swimming instructor and a rigorous canoe tripper. Upon completing her Havergal studies in 1973 Anne enrolled at Trinity College, University of Toronto where she majored in English. Anne's quiet charisma and infectious sense of humour endeared her to many fellow students and again created friendships which lasted throughout her lifetime. Upon graduation from Trinity College, Anne embarked on a career in print journalism. The Hunstsville Forester in Muskoka was her first paper. She learned the business by editing copy, mastering layout, taking her own photos and writing a weekly "Annie's Column'. From Hunstville, Anne moved to Winnipeg to work on the newly launched Winnipeg Sun. Like The Forester, the work environment at the Sun required a range of skills which Anne was able to master and later apply to her jobs at The Globe and Mail and Maclean's Magazine. Anne thrived on the newsroom energy that came with breaking stories, filing edited copy seconds before deadline and enjoying the wide array of characters who passed through newsrooms in that era of newspaper publishing. Anne's aesthetic interests were central to her fashion flair and her love of the fine arts. She was a talented painter and took extended art classes in New Brunswick, Quebec and, later in life, in the UK and Italy. Anne loved travelling and her passport was filled with stamps from Africa, the Middle East, Europe and Asia. In Anne's later years her growing love of Italy led her to repeated long visits in Venice, Florence and Rome. She learned to speak excellent Italian which, along with her French, first learned at l'Acadamie Jeanne D'Arc, opened new worlds to Anne. Her magnetism and warm personality became the source of numerous friendships in Italy. Among her many accomplishments, Anne was especially proud of her ongoing funding legacy to Trinity College. The courses her initiatives helped financially support included 'Science Writing', several Science streams and her most cherished, a counselling program for Trinity students. Anne is survived by her brother Peter, his wife Pauline and their two children Miranda and Eric and by her husband, Brian Gable. A small family funeral will be held in Ottawa and a larger celebration in honour of Anne E.H. Steacy will be scheduled this coming spring at the University of Toronto's Trinity College. In lieu of flowers, donations to the Steacy-Gable Neuro-Oncology Research Fund, UHN Foundation would be appreciated by the family. Please visit UHNfoundation.ca/tribute or call 416-603-6278.