Yvonne M. Winchcombe
WINCHCOMBE, Yvonne Marie – Yvonne Marie Winchcombe (Bonnie), née Muise, 88, was born on October 9, 1937, and passed away peacefully on May 12, 2026, at AR Goudie Long-Term Care in Kitchener, ON.
She is survived by her children, Charlene Winchcombe-Forhan (George Forhan), Guelph, ON; Heather Winchcombe (James Richey), Fall River, NS; and Brent Winchcombe (Andrée Drouin-Winchcombe), Rockland, ON; and her pride and joy – her five grandchildren, Zachary (Robyn), Tanya, Laura, Jeffrey, Dylan (Lauren), and great grandson, Ivan, all of Ontario.
She was predeceased by her husband of 66 years, Charles (Grant) Winchcombe, her parents, Isaac Nathaniel Muise and Mary Frances Saulnier of Yarmouth County, NS, and her siblings and their spouses, Dorcus (Roy), Annie Barbara (Barb, Doug), Agnes Antoinette (Toni, Peter), Walter (Pauline), Catherine (Don), Margaret (Nan, Finley), Olive (Olie, Bill), and Bernard (Gerry), as well as several nieces and nephews. She departed this life for what we can only imagine will be a joyful family reunion.
As the youngest of 9 siblings, with a 21-year age span, she had become an aunt, twice over, by the time she was 1 year old. Over time, that number grew to 39 nieces and nephews. With her earliest memories of growing up in this large family during the WWII era in southwestern NS, her life had a solid foundation in her Acadian roots, her Catholic faith, and her people.
Bonnie and Grant raised their own family beginning during the early 1960s, in and around Halifax, NS, with extra special time during an epic Atlantic to Pacific family driving vacation in ‘79, and during the ‘80s and ‘90s at their cottage on Sole’s Lake, NS.
Trained as a bookkeeper, Bonnie worked as a bank teller, an office administrator for Ainslie Animal Hospitals, and as a medical office receptionist for various family physicians. She also regularly, single-handedly held down the fort at home for months at a time while Grant was away with work for DND. In retirement, she and Grant moved to Guelph, ON, to maximize quality time with their kids and grandkids.
Bonnie’s circle of friends, comprised mostly of family, neighbours, and coworkers, was also large, with a number of them embraced as ‘family by choice’. Over the years, she offered countless people a place at the table, a meandering conversation, or a home away from home, while passing through Halifax or Guelph. That connection to her people was tremendously important to her, and this was still evident recently among the staff and residents at her long-term care home where she was described as ‘spicy’ and ‘the queen’. As the layers peeled away with the advancement of her dementia, it became clear that, at her core, were her fierce independence and her deep desire to help others.
Her family would like to thank family physician, Dr. Angela Lightle, and her team in Guelph for the care and compassion they provided for over 20 years; the Catholic community at St. Joseph Parish, Guelph, for the comfort and friendship they provided; and resident staff at AR Goudie for their patience, care, and kindness.
Cremation has taken place, as was her wish, under the care and direction of Wall-Custance Funeral Home Ltd., Guelph, ON. There will be no visitation. Interment will be held at Marymount Cemetery, Guelph, ON.
In lieu of flowers, if you would like to donate in Bonnie’s memory, please consider your local community or campus foodbank, or your local humane society. Thank you.
Arrangements entrusted to the WALL-CUSTANCE FUNERAL HOME & CHAPEL 519-822-0051 / www.wallcustance.com.
A tree will be planted in memory of Yvonne M. Winchcombe in the Wall-Custance Memorial Forest.