Oonagh Ada MCNERNEY

OONAGH MCNERNEY (nee Young)Enjoy life. Look lovely. Take care of yourself. Advice from Oonagh McNerney (nee Young), who passed away peacefully at her home on Monday, November 26, 2018. Oonagh was an extraordinary woman who charmed everyone who was fortunate enough to meet her. Her enthusiasm for life, humour and random compliments to strangers brought smiles and laughter wherever she went. Oonagh was born in Edinburgh, Scotland and was orphaned at a young age. After graduating from George Watson's Ladies College, she immigrated to Canada at the age of 18 and spent all of her money on two weeks of dance instructor training at Arthur Murray School. There she met her husband Frank and they became champion ballroom dancers. Together they built dance studios across Western Canada and starred in a TV show called 'Let's Dance' while raising their three children, Michael, Susan and Shannon. Eventually Oonagh and Frank moved from the dance business to start Extrufix, a plastics manufacturing company. In her role as President of Extrufix, Oonagh had the honour of representing Canada as the first woman on an international trade mission to Japan, continuing to promote Canadian exports on subsequent missions with Prime Minister Jean Chretien. Having been raised on both sides of the class divide in Scotland, Oonagh was comfortable talking to anyone: She could carry on a conversation with a king or a biker. She embraced marginalized communities. She was a pioneer ally for the LGBTQ community, and champion (and often benefactor) for fellow immigrants and women who needed a leg up in life. Oonagh led Extrufix well into her 70s and then she took her energy in a new direction by volunteering. She brought comfort in the Emergency ward at the Sandlake Hospital in Orlando and her famous vivaciousness to the YMCA. She also continued to live out the legacy of her dance days by bringing the party to all the local hotspots. There was no wallflower Oonagh could not entice onto the dance floor. She believed everyone was a star. She was a snowbird and enjoyed the community of her many friends at the Manulife Centre in Toronto when the sun was shining. Oonagh was predeceased by her husband Frank, her partner in love, dance, and business; her loving sister Maureen; and her beautiful daughter Shannon. She will be sorely missed by her son Michael (Donna) and her daughter Susan (Jim) and her many grandchildren and great-grandchildren as well as her friends and family in the US and the UK. A special thanks to Andy and her friends at the Oak Ridges retirement community. To all of us she will forever be an inspiration and model of someone who chose happiness for her own life, and spread it wherever she went. Visitation and service at Marshall's Funeral Home at 10366 Yonge St., Richmond Hill at 12 p.m. on Wednesday, November 28th, with reception to follow at the home of Rebecca MacDonald.