With strength of will, faith and love mixed with her trademark Irish humour, our mom- Betty (Elizabeth) Young (Wilton) peacefully reunited with our dad – her much missed partner in life and dance Ed Young – on January 27th, 2026.

As always mom was surrounded by her loving family who will grieve her loss while taking comfort in the fact that her battle with COPD and chronic pain is over and she can finally sing and dance to the music she loved and constantly had playing in the background. We will honour and remember mom according to the sentiment of an excerpt from a poem she liked: “’Forget that I ever had heartache – and remember I had loads of fun”

Throughout her life mom liked nothing better than an impromptu get together and was famous for her ability to feed a crowd with no notice and only the contents of her kitchen. Her home was always clean, her fridge always full and the kettle was always on – or the bar was open – depending on the occasion. Mom was renowned for her ability to “Mcgyver” solutions to any problem – often leaving us in awe of her ingenuity. This determination may have been what helped her master use of the iPad to stay in touch, up to date and entertained when she was not able to be with us all- particularly during COVID.

An early believer in reuse/recycle, mom never threw anything away until it was beyond use – even then she was sure someone would be able to “get a trick out of it” if donated. Despite this, she was fond of refreshing her decor and dad often said Buckingham Palace would have no history if Betty had lived there.

Mom was a devoted granny who lit up when with or just talking about her grandchildren and great grandson. Thanks to her (and grampa) providing early day care, frequent sleepovers and family vacations, each grandchild is blessed with their own special memories of Granny that will bring them comfort and smiles throughout their lives. In more recent years, mom happily extended this same pride and affection to their loving partners.

Mom and dad left us with a lifetime of memories- and we were blessed to have been able to add some very special moments in the last two weeks. At one point, mom proudly shared that she and dad came to this country with nothing – and left with everything. Mom will be lovingly missed and remembered by everyone who came to know her and her beautiful smile, they were her everything: Her daughters and her devoted son-in-laws, each of whom had their own unique banter, tasks and relationship with mom: Lorraine Gassner (Young), Angela Young, Liz Young (Tony Naghten), and Edlyn Young (Dave Gubekjian).

Her grandchildren, whom she adored and were a huge source of pride and joy to her: Edward Gassner (Delia Couto), Eric Gassner (Meghan Gassner), Nigel Gubekjian (Tess Levy), Ruby Gubekjian (Patrick Hamani), and her great grandson, Theodore Couto Gassner. Also her bonus grandchildren, who generously shared their time and adventures whenever possible: Paul Naghten (Giselle Cudini) and Brian Naghten.

She will also be missed by her beloved sisters and brothers and their families:
Sally McCormick, Margaret Hubbard, Roberta Young (Barry Young), Tucker Wilton, Robert Wilton (Wilma Wilton) and sister-in-law Ruth Mushing (Young), and all her other family and friends here, Ireland (North and South) and England. She loved her time with each of you.

We are thankful to the staff of St. Peter’s Hospital- Palliative Care Unit for their compassionate care of our mom during this time. Their support enabled us to focus on just being present with mom till the end.

A private funeral and burial will be held, celebration of life to follow at a later date.
In lieu of flowers please donate to Hamilton Out of the Cold.