E. SYLVIA BRANDER

1920 - 2024

(nee Conning) December 21, 1920 - September 6, 2024 Sylvia passed away peacefully, on her own terms at Amica Bayview Gardens, Toronto, in her 104th year. Mother of Derek (Michele) Fitzgerald; stepmother to Judy (Ross), Robert (Deb) and Stephanie. Cherished grandmother of seven grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. Predeceased by loving husbands, Gerry "Fitz" Fitzgerald and F. Gerald Brander; and brother, Francis Conning, England. Sylvia will be missed by her extended family and friends. Sylvia was born in Luton, England, and grew up in Wimbledon. After high school, she worked as an apprentice dressmaker with the goal of becoming a clothes designer. Her apprenticeship was cut short when the war started. Sylvia joined the RAF and was an equipment officer for six years where she met her husband, a Canadian. They married at the end of the war and moved to Canada, first to Toronto and then Montreal. After he died Sylvia worked for an accounting firm. She remarried and moved back to Toronto. Sylvia was a member of the IODE, AGO and ROM, where she worked in the gift shop for ten years. She enjoyed the arts and took up painting in oils and watercolour in her 50's. Sylvia also enjoyed travelling, lawn bowling, bridge, Scrabble, and various types of needlework. Cremation has taken place. A Celebration of Life will be held at Morley Bedford Funeral Home, 159 Eglinton Ave W., on Saturday, December 21, 2024, from 1:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. Tributes will start at 1:45 p.m.