Barbara Anne Hunkin

Barbara Hunkin (née Becker) passed away on July 17, 2025, at the age of 76 after a long journey with dementia. She leaves behind her daughters, Dawn Hunkin Bloomer (Bob), Tara Hunkin Ayranto (Ed), Lauren Hunkin (Mark), her grandchildren, Meghan Ayranto, Jack Bradley, Abby Ayranto and Emma Bradley, her sister Shirley Skvorc (Tom), her niece, Rebecca Skvorc, her nephew, Kevin Skvorc (Connie) and great-niece, Isabella.

She was born on October 6, 1948, to Janet and Robert (Bob) Becker in Grimsby, Ontario, where proximity to the escarpment in her early years meant hiking, building forts, and a "come home when the street lights came on" childhood. To build confidence and a heightened awareness for others in need, her mother would sign her up to perform the minuet in the adult variety show for the church (she got the girl part, much to Shirley's dismay), model children's clothes, or serve sandwiches at a charity tea. How these activities, along with church choir, piano lessons, and Girl Guides, translated into her love for horses is a mystery. Her parents used the lure of a horse in the backyard to entice her to move outside of town. There was no horse after all. However, living in the country meant frozen ponds for skating and many opportunities for babysitting.

During high school, she added to her musical repertoire playing the baritone in the marching band-she joked they'd run out of everything else.

She cherished summers at the family cottage that her father had built on Acton Island in Lake Muskoka, meaning time on the water, swimming, boating and waterskiing. Cottage life also created an opportunity to develop lifelong connections with extended family and friends. She loved being surrounded by nature and could do a decent imitation of different animal noises.

Her talents and sense of adventure led her to summer jobs at Elgin House and Bangor Lodge in cottage country, and the Northern Gateway in Wawa, where waitressing included putting on variety shows for the guests. Despite being a great letter writer, the work kept her too busy to write home one summer, and her worried father had to fly up to Wawa to check on her.

Barb loved children and would have made a good teacher. Still, in a day when women's choices were limited to teaching, nursing, or secretarial work, she chose to attend the University of Toronto for physical/occupational therapy. She graduated in 1969 and married John Hunkin in September of that same year. She juggled working as an occupational and physical therapist with motherhood with the arrival of their first daughter, Dawn, in 1970 and Tara shortly after in 1972. The family relocated to England in 1976, where touring family and friends around the country and caring for Dawn, Tara and the latest additions to the family, Old English Sheepdog puppies Garbo and Gershwin, became her primary focus.

The move to Sevenoaks, Kent, allowed her to spend time with horses, finally. Not only did she ride herself, but she also introduced both Dawn and Tara to riding lessons. In 1979, just after Lauren was born, they returned to Canada for two years before relocating once again to New York. With every move, Barbara transformed each house into a home, drawing on her natural talent for design. She always ensured her daughters continued to pursue their interests while also caring for the growing menagerie of four-legged companions. In 1986, the family returned home to Ontario, where they bought a farm in Schomberg, and she would finally realize her dream of having horses in her "back yard". The farm adventure included building a barn, renovating an over 100-year-old house, and having horses, dogs, cats, and bunnies and even hosting local Pony Club competitions.

In 1994, Barb decided to pursue a lifelong dream of designing and building her own home on 40 acres in Caledon, Ontario. Overseeing every detail, she created a warm and inviting space that looked like it had always been there. Neighbours apparently called it the "Fairytale House". She welcomed the opportunity to host countless family gatherings and many games of bridge with friends. Once the house was completed, she returned to school to formalize her interior design knowledge, becoming a Registered Interior Designer. She combined her expertise in occupational and physical therapy with her love of design by specializing in Universal Design principles to create spaces that were both beautiful and accessible.

Barbara loved her daughters deeply and was immensely proud of their accomplishments, as well as those of her grandchildren. She spent many happy years surrounded by family, her cherished animals, and the homes she so lovingly shaped. Hers was truly a life well lived.

Barbara will be interred in a private ceremony at Queen's Lawn Cemetery in Grimsby, along with her parents, on the morning of October 15, 2025. There will be a private gathering of friends and family that afternoon in Hockley Valley to celebrate her life. In lieu of flowers, the family would appreciate donations to organizations she supported, including The Bethell Hospice Foundation, Orangeville SPCA and Theatre Orangeville.