Dorothy's son Justin and the rest of her family
My sincerest sympathy to you all in your loss of this wonderful person I got to know so late and for such a short time. I've lost a very special friend.
Dorothy Allen Mazeau
June 1947 – October 2024
Born in Winthrop, Massachusetts and raised in Weymouth, Dorothy moved to Toronto in 1974. There she worked as an architect while raising her son, Justin. She always had a positive outlook on life, a smile on her face and a silly streak a mile wide. She wouldn’t always show it but if you were around her long enough, she couldn’t always hide it either.
When Dorothy moved to Caledon she branched out into real estate, becoming a realtor and shortly thereafter began actively promoting home sharing in earnest, in what became a multi-decade passion project, having shared a home herself for most of her adult life. She gave seminars and launched her business Golden HomeSharing Connections to help older adults learn about the benefits of home-sharing and facilitate finding compatible housemates.
Dorothy always seemed to make friends quickly, and the energy she brought with her made a memorable impression on everyone she met. Living in Caledon for over 20 years, she was active in numerous organizations, including the Probus Club of Bolton, the Achill Choral Society, and the Caledon East United Church. She then moved to Lennoxville in December 2022 and did it all again, quickly joining the University Women’s Club, the Lennoxville United Church choir, and the Bishops University Singers, singing being one of her many delights.
When cancer came for a visit in early 2023, she just kept moving forward, not one to let such trifling things slow her down. This year she began working full-time on a fellowship putting together a report with The Samuel Centre for Social Connectedness, Canada HomeShare, and HelpAge Canada on home sharing, furthering her advocacy for community living. That report was completed on Tuesday, September 24th, and with that her work was done.
After putting up with the many annoyances of cancer for 18 months, she gave the disease its comeuppance and took it down with her on October 5th, never giving it the satisfaction of removing the smile from her face, or silly from her heart.
Dorothy/Dottie/Dot is survived by her brother Ted, sisters Sue and Bev, and her son Justin.
There will be a service on Saturday, October 12th at 11:00 am at the Lennoxville United Church and livestreamed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1zgk_wcj6I
Please consider a donation to HelpAge Canada at https://helpagecanada.ca/?form=donations to support the work they do and honour Dorothy’s memory.