Ellen Catherine Mackinnon

MacKinnon, Ellen Catherine
Ellen MacKinnon died in her family's presence and in her Georgetown home on February 17, 2016 after a long illness. She was a great mother, treasured wife and companion, a gifted hospital chaplain, manager, community leader and a friend and mentor to many.
Ellen was born on March 1, 1941 in Sudbury, ON to Earle MacKinnon and Marion Ward. She married Gino Medina in 1962 and with him raised their five children: Lisa, Mia, Kara, John and Mathew. Introduced to pastoral care as a trained volunteer, Ellen became a full-time chaplain at Sarnia General Hospital. In 1987 she moved, alone, to Sarnia to lead the Pastoral Care department at Bluewater Health. Ellen married Bill Strachan in 1990. In 1998 she retired from hospital chaplaincy to serve five Sarnia nursing homes, their residents and staff, until her final retirement in 2005. She and Bill moved to Acton, in 2008 back to Sarnia and, thirty months ago, returned to Georgetown to be near her family.
Besides her husband and children, Ellen leaves her sisters, Beth Madison and Joanne MacKinnon, daughters- and sons-in-law: Douglas Faulkner, Tony Hart, Don MacDonald, Theresa Thibodeau and Shelly Medina; her former husband, Gino Medina (Arlene Angwin), and their shared grandchildren: Hana and Mari MacDonald, Michela Ciavarella and Frasier Boudreau, and dads David Ciavarella and Marc Boudreau.
Ellen's funeral Mass will be celebrated at Holy Cross Church on Monday, February 22nd at 10:00 A.M. Reception to follow in the Church Hall, 14400 Argyll Rd, Georgetown, ON, corner of Mountainview (Ninth Line).
In lieu of flowers, we suggest a donation to a Women's Shelter in your community or to the Scleroderma Society of Ontario. To send expressions of sympathy, visit www.jsjonesandsonfuneralhome.com.