elevated FFZY8 March 1, 1934 – June 29, 2022

elevated FFZY8 Visitation
Wednesday, July 6, 2022 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

elevated FFZY8 Holy Cross Catholic Funeral Home
211 Langstaff Road East, Thornhill, ON, L3T 3Z6

elevated FFZY8 Funeral Mass
Thursday, July 7, 2022 at 12:00 p.m.                              

elevated FFZY8 Chapel of St. Joseph – Holy Cross Catholic Funeral Home –        Click here to view the mass.

elevated FFZY8 Interment
Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery – Section 22

elevated FFZY8 Life Story

elevated FFZY8 Rosemarie Borgald Perkins, age 88, passed away at the Providence Rehabilitation Centre in Toronto following short illness. She was a fiercely proud Nova Scotian and a dedicated and loving mother.

elevated FFZY8 Born in Chester Basin, Nova Scotia in 1934, the daughter of the late Hiram and Kathleen (Boylan) Borgald, Rosemarie spent her early formative years there on Borgald’s Point. As the seventh generation of her family to live on the South Shore, she took great pride in her family’s roots as a founding family of the UNESCO Heritage town of Lunenburg, as well as one of the founding families of Chester Basin. Growing up in Borgald’s Point when there were only 8 families, most of whom were Borgald’s, instilled in her a deep love and loyalty to family and a closeness to her older sister Gloria which endured for their entire lives. Farmers and carpenters, it was a humble life in this seaside community. Being the only catholic in a community of Baptists posed many challenges in those days.

elevated FFZY8 Her family moved to Halifax in 1949 in pursuit of better economic opportunities. Rosemarie attended Saint Patrick’s Girls High School and the Halifax Vocational School, graduating in Secretarial training; following which she was employed firstly at a local automotive dealership, then in the downtown Halifax branch office of a major financial institution. Early in her working career, Rosemarie’s father passed away at the age of 59 requiring her and her sister to provide for their mother Kathleen.

elevated FFZY8 In 1955 she married William J. Perkins, whose occupation over the years entailed moving many times. As a result, Rosemarie lived in a variety of Maritime communities including Halifax, Yarmouth, Bathurst, and Saint John, as well as in Ontario at Sudbury and Toronto. Together they raised four children.

elevated FFZY8 A stay-at-home Mom until her children were grown and left home she dedicated her life to them. From being their teacher, healthcare provider, taxi driver, chef, chief encouragement officer, party planner, drop-in centre for their neighbourhood kids – a Mom. Rosemarie instilled in her children the value of working hard; of loving each other; loyalty; of doing that you can achieve anything if you work hard enough; of having the highest standards in everything from manners, to school, to how you treat people. Her goal was to raise the best children possible who would be happy, healthy and good people. She was the proudest Mom of her kids that you could ever meet. Their accomplishments in sports, careers, and family she would share with people she met. Rosemarie took every opportunity to tell her children how proud she was of them. And they were equally as proud of their Mom. Often mistaken as a sibling of her children because of her youthful beauty even until the end. This delighted her every single time it happened.  She was always concerned for their welfare of her children than of her own.

elevated FFZY8 She loved to garden. Rosemarie created the most beautiful home gardens in all of the homes she lived in. It allowed her to show her creative side. She taught her children about gardening, cooking and the arts. She was dedicated to searching out the Borgald family genealogy. In the days before the internet and computers, she was a family detective searching church records, graveyards and family members for oral recollections. She managed to trace the history of the Borgald’s back into the mid 1700’s; a significant achievement without technology. This too was a commitment to her family and their importance.

elevated FFZY8 When her children were grown Rosemarie returned to the workforce in retail sales for more than twenty years; first with the maternity store The Waiting Lady, then as manager into her 70’s of the women’s clothing store Cinnamon C at Don Mills Shopping Centre. She absolutely loved that job and performed it with the same dedication as she had as a loving and devoted mother and wife. She developed many long-lasting friendships with her co-workers.

elevated FFZY8 To know Rosemarie was to appreciate that any excuse to bring the family together through birthdays, anniversary’s, Christmas, New Year’s, Eastern and thanksgiving was a priority. She was an amazing hostess, along with her sister Gloria, their get togethers were gourmet extravaganza’s. And then there was the cameras. No gathering was complete with Mom taking photos to mark every event. Because of this, our family is left with a photographic history of the family.

elevated FFZY8 No remembrance of Rosemarie is complete without recognizing her dedication to her mother especially during her years of health decline, as well as her love of her sister Gloria and her husband Archie-they were inseparable. Gloria, while older, had the connection to Rosemarie reserved usually only for twins. They were second parents to Rosemarie and Bill’s four children. They loved them as much as any parent.

elevated FFZY8 Finally, the sudden loss of her first-born child William Michael when Bill was only 56 years of age, in many ways defined the rest of her life. This loss is the most difficult for any parent, but for Rosemarie whose life still revolved around her children, this was beyond devastating for her.

elevated FFZY8 She is survived by her husband William, daughter Debby Maskell, and sons Rick (Wendy) and Steve (Kellie), six grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren. Rosemarie was pre-deceased by her parents; older sister Gloria (Pearson) and her husband Archie; her eldest son Will; and her son-in- law Syd (Maskell).

elevated FFZY8 Rosemarie was a devoted mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. She had six grandchildren: Katie Bellefontaine (Jeff), Scott Maskell (Danielle), Will Perkins (Alana), Evan Perkins, Ashley Perkins, Stephanie Acton (Craig). She was very proud of her nine great-grandchildren: James Acton, Parker Acton, Olivia Bellefontaine, Hailey Bellefontaine, Grayson Bellefontaine, Nora Bellefontaine, Amelia Maskell, Eva Maskell, and Frankie Perkins.

elevated FFZY8 The family would like to thank the staff of the Scarborough Health Network Birchmount Hospital and the Providence Rehabilitation Centre for their care during Rosemarie’s illness. In lieu of flowers, please donate to the St. Bonaventure Catholic Church in Toronto, or the Heart and Stroke Foundation.

elevated FFZY8 Visitation will be held Wednesday, July 6, 2022 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at Holy Cross Catholic Funeral Home 211 Langstaff Road East, Thornhill, ON, L3T 3Z6. Rosemarie’s funeral will be Thursday, July 7, 2022 at 12:00 p.m. Chapel of St. Joseph – Holy Cross Catholic Funeral Home, 211 Langstaff Road East, Thornhill, ON.