Obituary of Jane Durkin

Nuala Jane Durkin (née Irwin)With heavy hearts and profound sadness, we announce the passing of Nuala Jane Durkin (nee Irwin) on March 17, 2020, surrounded by her loving family, at the Queensway Carleton Hospital in Ottawa.Born September 26, 1953 in Port Colborne, Ontario, she was the daughter of the late Robert and Kathleen (née Gibson) Irwin. Nuala was a devoted and loving mother of Michael (Jackie) & Ian (Chloe), beloved partner of David Moss, and dear sibling of Robert (Barb), Rory (Wayne) and Eileen (Mark). Grammy will be sadly missed by her two biggest treasures, her grandchildren, Tyler & Eloïse. Nuala will be fondly remembered by nieces, nephews, extended family and her many cherished friends. Nuala always aimed to live her life following one simple phrase: "life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away (Maya Angelou).Nuala was a respected and valued educator for the Ottawa Catholic School Board for 29 years. Her stellar career embodied a wide variety of roles: teacher, department head, vice principal in the elementary and secondary panels, principal in the elementary panel. She retired from the OCSB in 2010 as principal of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Nuala’s mantra for her career in education was to do whatever it takes to ensure the well-being of the student comes first. She selflessly offered her caring and generous spirit to organizations, focusing particularly to help those less fortunate, or those most vulnerable in our community. Nuala was active in retirement as part of the National, Niagara and Ottawa areas Real Estate Staging Association. She was a member and eventually vice president on the Board of Directors of St. Mary’s Home in Ottawa from 2016-2019.Nuala lived an amazing life filled with gatherings, adventures and travel with family and friends. She is, and will forever be missed.A special thank you to the doctors, nurses and staff in the Oncology and Palliative Care wards at The Ottawa General and Queensway Carleton Hospital, as well as Dr. D’Amico for her care and compassion over the years.In memory of Nuala, please consider making a donation to The Catholic Education Foundation of Ottawa, CEFO (ocsb.ca/cefo), St. Mary’s Home (stmaryshome.com) or a charity of choice.Due to COVID - 19 circumstances, a private Celebration of Life for Nuala, by invitation only, will be held at Capital Funeral Home & Cemetery, 3700 Prince of Wales Drive, 613-692-1211. For those wishing, it will be shared via live-stream which can be accessed on Saturday, August 22 at 1:00pm, at http://distantlink.com/dlm19.html Password Arbor2020.