Nancy Haalboom (née Burden) died suddenly on February 3rd, 2026. She was 79 years old. Nancy leaves behind her children, Adam Haalboom (Lena Dianda), Bethany Haalboom (Tim Bryant), and three grandchildren, Madaleine, Charlotte, and Alex. She also leaves behind her younger brother, Bill (Jill), her nieces, Leila (Paul Nixon), Julia (Pete Walker), and nephew Robert.
Nancy graduated from Westdale High School in Hamilton. Always a chatty student, a former teacher expressed dryly that she was an “albatross around his neck”, a literary allusion no modern high school student would appreciate. A lifelong Hamiltonian, sometimes even proudly, she also graduated from McMaster University with a Bachelor of Arts degree. Much later she obtained a Master’s Degree in Social Work from Wilfred Laurier University. At the time, she was a single parent working at the Children’s Aid Society in Hamilton, a job that she could not say she loved, but one which allowed her to be financially independent when she and her husband separated with two young children. Education was very important to Nancy. She was so pleased when Bethany graduated from Duke University with a PhD. She delighted in talking about former professors, particularly her English professors, and she projected an appreciation for literature that helped inspire Adam to pursue literary studies in university. That being said, she never attained all that she thought she could have for herself either educationally or vocationally, and did not shy away from candid reflections that underscored that resentment. In her old age, she could have played a film version of Hagar from one of her favourite books, The Stone Angel, with tragic appeal.
Nancy’s fondest memories were from her childhood vacations at a summer cottage on Lake Muskoka. There she spent time with her brother Bill, her imposing mother, Isabel Burden, an elementary school teacher, her father, William Burden, a WWII veteran and elementary school principal, and their perpetually cranky cocker spaniel, Frisky. She would often relate stories about her adventures with her brother and cottage neighbours, such as when a young John Elwell threw her toothbrush in the lake after they had an argument. Her brother Bill, seeing this, knocked on the door of John’s cottage and asked his mother if he could look over John’s baseball card collection, which he proceeded to calmly dump in the lake. Her time in the Muskokas as a child produced a lifelong love of the near north, and one of her proudest achievements was purchasing her humble cottage on Wolf Lake north of Dorset, Ontario, which she could barely afford.
Due to a gift a few years ago from her niece, Julia, Nancy was prompted to write a family history that would become a self-published book. She spent many hours compiling stories and researching her ancestors to write the book. She was gratified with the final result, if not with her ancestors, which allowed her to commit to print her family’s story.
Nancy lived most of her adult life in Dundas, and cherished her long walks in the Dundas Conservation Area with her cocker spaniel, Prince, until he became senile and she accidentally ran him over. Her third cocker spaniel, the one-eyed Emma, was one of her closest companions, who thankfully died peacefully beside her in the passenger seat of her Pontiac Sunfire.
Nancy thrived on travelling, particularly to exotic destinations like Suriname and New Zealand with Bethany. In her adult years, those experiences and her time watching her grandchildren grow up shaped some of her most treasured memories.
Finally, Nancy absolutely loved her neighbourhood. She enjoyed visiting with her neighbours, particularly Beatrice (‘Bea’) who Nancy cherished for her unwavering support and kindness. She adored Dundas and living beside the Conservation Area, and so it was no surprise that she refused to leave her home, “except in a body bag”—which she did.
Fortunately, Nancy remained lucid throughout her life, holding onto precious memories, her often caustic and morbid wit playing along in accompaniment. May she have found an eternally receptive audience for her sardonic opinions and stories, wherever she may have landed. She will be missed.
Cremation has taken place. A private memorial service will be held in June around the time of Nancy’s birthday.