SNAP Etobicoke Community Events

Return to edition

Elsie Mitchell is joined by her caregiver Joan, of Home Instead Senior Care, at West Park Healthcare Centre

Share Comment Buy

Emboldened Elsie

Life expectancy in Canada is just under 81 years. Seems no one told Elsie Mitchell that, as she celebrated her 100th birthday in early August. Born August 4th, 1912 in Toronto, Elsie was raised in Parkdale and was an accomplished pianist who played on the radio as a teenager. In 1931, the only child moved with her parents to "the country." Their new address: 59 Grenview Boulevard. Elsie's father was called "crazy" for paying $11,500 for a house located off a stretch of Bloor St. that boasted just three businesses: Main Prize Drugs, Bank of Nova Scotia, and A&P. Today, the area now known as The Kingsway features a bustling retail strip and sees houses sell for seven figures. Elsie moved out when she married her stockbroker husband George in 1937, but the two returned to the Grenview property in the early '40s. They remained there for 25 years before selling it in 1975 for a price of $110,000. (As Elsie's daughter Marilyn put it, her parents sold just a little early.) Elsie and George, who were married for 50 years before his passing in 1987, also had a son, George Jr. Elsie now lives in West Park's Long-Term Care Centre and has three grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. Happy birthday, Elsie.