Barbara MCELYA

BARBARA ALEXANDRA COATSWORTH MCELYA (née Munro) Alex ('Ally') passed away peacefully on November 19, 2019 after a lengthy and courageous battle with cancer having just turned 34. Youngest child of Sandy Munro (Lynn) and the late Barbara Abbott Stodgell Munro. Alex is survived by her husband Dave, her daughter Blythe and her compassionate and caring in-laws, Judy and Bill. She was adored by her siblings Kim (Ryan Roberts), Katie, Scott and Jason, her cherished nieces and nephews and her loyal Great Dane, Hailey. Born in Atlanta, Georgia, Alex moved to Oakville in her early teens where she attended Appleby College ('04) and then the University of Western Ontario ('09). Always full of energy, enthusiasm and adventure, Alex spent time working and living in the Bahamas and Toronto before settling down with her husband in The Woodlands, Texas. She was determined in all aspects of her life and succeeded in all her working endeavours as a superstar saleswoman both in the world of high fashion, then later as a mortgage broker. She did all this while creating a lovely family home and raising Blythe (who she adoringly called 'B') - the light of her life. Alex lived her own life with a fierce, charismatic, infectious energy, and made an impact on everyone who crossed her path. Her many friends will remember her contagious belly laugh, quick-witted sense of humor, and the ability to completely light up a room. A wanderlust at heart, she managed to travel and create beautiful family memories while living with pain and discomfort in her final years. She was a strong willed, incredible force of strength - someone who we all admire and miss dearly. The family is grateful for the care Alex received from her long-time caregiver Tamika Burke. Alex will be cremated and buried alongside her beloved late Mother (Barbara) in Toronto. To celebrate the magnetic, vibrant ray of light that Alex was in all our lives, a celebration of her life will be held in January 2020 in Toronto. As Abraham Lincoln once penned - 'In the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years.' Alex embodied these words to the fullest.