JOCELYNE CÔTÉ-O'HARA

(August 18, 1945 – October 21, 2025) Dear Jocelyne, formidable wife, mother, sister, sister-in-law, mother-in-law, grandmother, aunt, great-aunt, mentor, champion and friend to so many wonderful people, you will be missed. Jocelyne was born into a Franco-Ontarian family in North Bay, Ontario, to Raymond and Lucienne (Trottier) Côté. As the eldest daughter of seven children, she quickly came into her innate leadership qualities, assuming a caring role with her younger siblings, Claire, Gilles, Estelle, Denise and Lucille. In 1968, she married the love of her life, Tom O'Hara, and they remained loving partners for 57 years, raising three children in Ottawa, Winnipeg, Geneva, Montreal and Toronto. Jocelyne was so much fun. She was an excellent cook and loved entertaining. A gifted storyteller known for her dry wit and malapropisms, Jocelyne was a fan of ceremony, prone to making impromptu speeches at gatherings. She was at her best when the light shone upon her and it could sometimes be difficult for her to find her light married into the O'Hara family, a tight-knit clan of very shiny people, including former owners of Toronto's legendary Squeeze Club, Marcus and Michael, and their national treasure youngest sisters, Mary Margaret and Catherine. Luckily, Jocelyne had her own clan to lovingly rule over - the Côtés, a sprawling group of teachers, realtors and business leaders given to gathering in the summer for the Lucy Trotter Golf Tournament, named in honour of Lucienne Trottier's indomitable adaptation skills as a francophone in 1940s Montreal. Jocelyne was smart and ambitious and had a knack for being at the right place at the right time. She worked at the Ontario Pavillion at Expo 67 and was part of the Company of Young Canadians. She ascended through public service from the Treasury Board to the Prime Minister's office, where she was deputy chief of staff for Brian Mulroney as well as his advisor on women's issues. She was recruited to the private sector by BC Tel, becoming the nation's first telephone operator to become a telecommunications VP. She travelled the globe, providing leadership in the restructuring of the information and telecommunications industries and reached the C-suite as founding CEO of Stentor Telecom Policy. In the third chapter of her career, she served as director and governor of some of Canada's most important corporations, advisory boards, cultural and academic institutions and charities, including Xerox Canada, the Ontario Judiciary Council, Simon Fraser University, The Commonwealth Games, Hot Docs, The Women's TV Network and Save The Children. During these years, she mentored countless people on the challenges, especially those facing women, of the corporate and business worlds. Jocelyne proudly touted her 30/30/30 credo by which she divided her talents between work that paid well, work that broke even and work she volunteered, with a 10% float. Jocelyne was honored with numerous awards over her career, the apex of which being the Order of Canada, bestowed to her in 2011, in recognition of her talents as a manager and for her efforts to promote the cause of women in the workplace. Jocelyne's final decade was not an easy one as she had Lewy Body Dementia. Everyone - friends, family, and Jocelyne herself - coped as best they could, as the disease took her away, little by little. She was predeceased by her parents and brother, Jean Claude; and survived by her husband, Tom; daughters, Alexis and Shannon (Jeff) and son, Bill; grandchildren, Jamie, Taylor, Haylee, Olivia, Reiley, and Ivor. The family would like to extend heartfelt thanks to all who cared for Jocelyne in her final years, in particular the staff of the 6th floor of Castleview Wychwood Towers and her wonderful caregivers Lori Gaynor and Pauline Smith. There will be a Funeral Mass in Jocelyne's honour at Saint Michael's Cathedral Basilica at 10 a.m. on November 22nd. A celebration of her life for friends and family will follow. In lieu of flowers, we ask you to consider donating to a charity dear to Jocelyne's heart, LHON Canada. https://lhoncanada.ca/donate/