Veronica Mary Rowe

Veronica Rowe, aged 91, passed away peacefully at the Ottawa General Hospital on April 23, 2025, after a brief illness. She was born July 7, 1933, to parents Edmund and Ellen (Walsh). She is pre-deceased by her three older sisters Teresa, Joan and Mary, older brother Edmund and her husband Edward.

She was born and raised in Placentia Bay, Newfoundland and then moved to St. John’s, Newfoundland to complete high school at the Mercy convent. Veronica went on to receive a diploma at secretarial college. She worked at the Peat Marwick Mitchell accounting firm where she met her beloved husband-to-be, Edward.

Veronica was a devoted, loving mother to her 4 children. Once the children were raised, she proudly returned to university as an adult student and received her Bachelor of Arts in Sociology. She worked as an assistant to Members of Parliament at the House of Commons for several years prior to retirement.

Veronica is survived by her four children: Paul, Elaine (Jim), Joanne, and Monique (Alain). She will be deeply missed by her nine grandchildren: Chris (Kendra), Sarah (Alec), Suzanne (Rob), Ilana (Pablo), Mike (Celeste), Andrew, Alyssa (Shady), Jenny (Sebastien), and Valerie (Sebastien), as well as her four great-grandchildren, Alycia, Zachary, Jayna and Calvin.

Family was of paramount importance to Veronica. She cared and supported all her children throughout her life and developed unique relationships with each grandchild. She remained interested in all their accomplishments and supported them through life challenges.

Due to Edward’s career postings, Veronica had the opportunity to live in New Jersey, New York and Mexico and to travel widely throughout the world. She embraced these opportunities to learn about different cultures and meet new friends.

Veronica will be remembered for her Newfoundland charm; always welcoming with a warm smile and ready for a chat. She had a wonderful sense of fashion and up until her last days, each day wore elegant and stylish outfits with matching jewelry, shoes, and purses. She enjoyed Scrabble and other word games and was an avid walker all her life. She loved music and singing throughout her life and had a lovely singing voice. She was a member of several choirs in Newfoundland and carried the joy of music to all family gatherings.

Veronica was a loved mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, wife, and friend. She will be missed and fondly remembered by those who had the honour to know her.

Thank you to the medical and palliative care staff at the Ottawa General Hospital for their compassionate care. Thank you to the devoted staff at Stirling Park Retirement Home for providing a safe, nurturing home for Veronica for more than 5 years.

Family and friends may gather at Tubman Funeral Homes Westboro Chapel, 403 Richmond Road, on Saturday, May 3rd, 2025, after 8:30am, until service time at 9:30am in the chapel. Burial to follow at Hope Cemetery, 4660 Bank Street. To attend virtually, please preregister for the livestream using the link below.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Alzheimer’s Society of Canada or Doctors Without Borders in memory of Veronica.