REINHILDE SPERLICH "RONNIE" WALWYN

1925 - 2019

WALWYN, REINHILDE "RONNIE" SPERLICH Age 93, died peacefully on July 25, 2019 in Aurora, Ontario. The cause of death was peripheral vascular disease. Ronnie was born in Judenburg, Austria, on September 4, 1925, the first born child of Rudolf and Hildegard (Grill) Sperlich. She came to Canada in August of 1952 and was married to John Pearce Walwyn, a stock broker, in October of 1954. Ronnie enjoyed many happy years living in Toronto, travelling and spending many summers at Faith Island on Lake Joseph in Muskoka. After the death of her beloved JP in 1976, Ronnie maintained close contact with many friends in Toronto although she chose to move up to King Township where she lived for over forty years at Angus Hill Farm. In 2015, she moved to Hollandview Trail Retirement Residence in Aurora. Ronnie made a great number of friends in her almost 94 years. She was a true and loyal friend, a unique human being, genuine and always kind. She loved family gatherings, both on visits to see family and friends in Austria and in Canada, where she regularly hosted holiday family gatherings and cooked traditional meals for often, more than thirty people. She truly believed in lifelong learning over the years. She took French language courses, painted with the same group of amateur artist friends over a number of years, joined Toastmasters and delivered a fine speech at her 80th birthday party and learned computer skills to email and Skype. Taking a few writing courses led to the successful completion of Lots of Goodbyes, her story as a young woman coming to a new land. In the mid '80s, she studied for her real estate license and ventured into the business world, purchasing Snowball Place, a small country mall west of Aurora. With some real estate partners, she opened The House of Brougham, a pine furniture franchise and a few years later, she and her good friend, Joan Davies opened The J R Room, a store with stylish women's clothing. (J was for Joan, R was for Ronnie!) Ronnie was also a member of the congregation at All Saints Anglican Church in King City, where she joined in regularly for services and volunteered for many activities. She was actively involved with her Investment Club in Toronto, was a long-term member of the Wine Tasters Guild of Aurora and the Aurora Probus Club and also volunteered for Hospice King/Aurora and the McMichael Canadian Art Collection. She enjoyed playing Bridge, especially with her friends at Hollandview. Another passion in her later years was to play Poker, especially Texas Hold 'em and to those who knew her well, this came as no surprise! Throughout the years, she travelled extensively. Her last big adventure, in December 2017 at the age of 92, was a trip by plane and then high-speed train to Xian, China to see the Terra-Cotta Army of Dreams. Well done, Ronnie! Ronnie was very kind to the many animals on the farm. She loved all the cats and dogs, especially her first miniature Schnauzer, Erika. Ronnie was always keen to head down to the barn to watch the birth of a foal and she always marvelled at the miracle of that new life. Ronnie is survived by and will be terribly missed by many close family members including her brother Rudi Sperlich, niece Gudrun Hodl, stepmother Stefi Sperlich, half-sisters, Ute Wagner and Sieglinde Logar, half-brother Volker Sperlich, all from Austria, cousin Horst Sperlich from Germany, nephew Klaus Sperlich, stepson John Walwyn, step-granddaughter Jennifer Walwyn, all from the US, niece Barbl Goldring, stepdaughter Suzanne Winchell, step-grandchildren Cathie Bowden, Stephen Goldring, Christy Gunton, Laurie Gunton, Luther Winchell, Christopher Winchell, and her close friend, Marjorie O'Donnell, all from Canada. Ronnie was predeceased by her husband JP Walwyn, her stepdaughters, Louise Goldring and Gilda McPhedron, and her step-granddaughter, Shelley Gunton. Special mention and thanks go to the wonderful staff and residents at Hollandview Trail Retirement Residence for all the love and support given to Ronnie during this difficult time and throughout her four years at Hollandview. A celebration of Ronnie's life will be announced at a later date.