Deborah Anne (Vilneff) Nicholson

Nicholson, Deborah Anne (nee Vilneff)

Peacefully, surrounded by family, Deborah Anne Nicholson (nee Vilneff) of Belleville, Ontario passed away on Friday, December 21, 2018, after an 8 month battle with lung cancer. She was in her 66th year. She is lovingly remembered by her mother Mae Pretty (nee Vilneff) of St. Catharines; by her son Greg Turriff (Lura) and grandchildren Katie, Tim, and Jacob of Belleville; her sisters Brenda Sweet (Paul) of Bayside, Linda Gozzard of Belleville, Rhonda Boisvert (Jim) of St. Catharines, Diana May of St. Catharines, her brother Don Vilneff (Judy) of Trenton, and many nieces and nephews. Debbie will also be dearly missed by her two loving cats, Scrappy and Socks. She was predeceased by her beloved partner of 20 years, Ron Stratton and her son, Ian Joseph.

Debbie worked for many years in industrial sewing at Bata Footwear, Vagden Mills and Impacto Protective Products, until she retired 10 years ago. In retirement, she donated many hours of her time to the Belleville Legion and was awarded the Volunteer of the Year for 2017. She spent the rest of her time knitting and donating thousands of winter hats to many different organizations. Debbie was a very proud Mohawk and lovingly passed her knowledge on to her family and grandchildren.

Many thanks to the wonderful VON Nurses and PSW's who tended to Debbie in the last few weeks. Their help was instrumental in granting Debbie's wishes to be at home. In keeping with Debbie’s wishes, a celebration of life is to take place May 25, 2019 at the Royal Canadian Legion in Belleville. Those who wish may make memorial donations in honour of Debbie to Canada VON. https://www.von.ca/en/donate-now

"What we once enjoyed and deeply loved we can never lose, for all that we love deeply becomes part of us."  

- Helen Keller

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Deborah Anne (Vilneff) Nicholson, please visit our floral store.