Obituary of Charlene Marie Merrill

With extreme heartache we announce the sudden passing of Charlene Marie Merrill (Hay), on February 15, 2025. Born in Fredericton on February 22, 1955 she is the daughter of Margaret Joan Hay (Flynn) and the late Owen Bruce Hay (1934-1993).

Wife, mum, nana, daughter, sister, and friend were the titles she cherished. Her grandbabies were the light of her life, spending every moment she could cuddling Freddy, Louise and Oaklan, and she was excited and having fun preparing to spoil baby girl on the way. The house stocked with snacks and care packages received in the mail, their faces lit up every time she walked into the room.

It took a few years for her to settle into rural life in Tay Creek but she eventually embraced the home where she raised four children; snowmobiling, ATVing, dinner parties with friends, and desperately wanting to be a gardener but just not able to get past the blackflies that loved to torment her. She loved music and concerts, and following the boys to every corner of the Maritimes cheering them on in their hockey games. "The lake" was a happy place, spending summers relaxing by the water at French Lake, and sharing stories and laughs with sisters and friends around the campfire. In the winters she loved to travel -- anywhere with a beach and a good book.

She became a pillar of the Stanley community as the nurse manager of the Health Centre for 18 years before retiring in 2020. She was respected by colleagues for her firm but fair leadership, and her patients appreciated her calmness and compassion. Nursing was her passion, taking care of the most vulnerable at the DECH's Intensive Care Unit and Recovery Room for 22 years, and always playing nurse mom and wife. Even in "retirement" she found joy, meaning and new friendships in joining the COVID recovery effort and then teaching and mentoring. She inspired her nieces to take up the profession.
 
She will be dearly missed by all who knew her and will be remembered for her never ending thoughtfulness and care for others. She is survived by husband Stephen, children Stephanie, Kale (Shayna), Frank (Robyn) and Jeffrey (Hannah), Mother Joan, sisters Patricia MacFarlane (Edward) and Joanne Edgar (David), and her special sisters in-law Joan Merrill, Susan Stravostrand and Ann Haines.

A visitation will be held at York Funeral Home on Sunday, February 23 from 12-2pm followed by a Celebration of Life at 2pm, that will include a Nurse's Tribute. A reception will take place after the service in the Fireside Room. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made to the Stanley Just Friends Food Bank, Liver Canada or a charity of choice. Personal condolences may be offered through www.yorkfh.com.