Obituary of Tara McIntosh

Tara Jayne McIntosh, March 24, 1969 to January 18, 2024. It is with deep sadness that we announced the passing of Tara Jayne. After a 6-month illness and hospital stay, she left us too soon at the age of 54. She is survived by siblings Philip (Renate) and Caroline; niece and nephews; Stephanie, Christian, Mark, and Robert; predeceased by her Father, Jack, on December 2, 2021 and Mother, June, on October 22, 2023. Tara was born in Mississauga but lived many places, including: Oakville, Lisle/Mansfield, Etobicoke, Sarnia, and lastly, Brantford. She had a great love of travel; going alone to Jamaica and PEI, with Laurie to Dominican Republic, with Carol to BC, Washington, Utah, Arizona, Nevada, Wisconsin, and each fall camping in Northern Michigan. Her many maps were a cherished possession. She often set out, by herself, on adventurous day-trips to Niagara-on-the-Lake and, to the worry of her mother, to Detroit. Like her pilot father, Tara loved to fly and was able to ride in her favourite plane, a Stearman, in Hamilton. Tara loved all animals but especially cats. She left behind her two much-loved feline friends, Dudley and Zoe. Over the years, she had many, many cats and sometime lied about how many. Tara’s kindness to animals was so great, she would often stop to move a dead cat to the side of the road. One time, the cat was still alive and she rushed it to the vet and saved its life. Tara will always be remembered by her family, friends and neighbours for her determination and genuine friendship. Tara was not shy and quickly made deep, meaningful friendships everywhere she went (even during her hospital stay). Her tenacity and stubbornness she said was due to her Scottish heritage. Tara worked briefly in real estate and spent 7 years at the Provincial office of Scouts Canada (Toronto). She spent many years in insurance with Creighton and Co., AON Reed, Aboriginal Ins. Services, and Grand River Ins. Brokers. She was a great photographer and had her own business called Artful Eye Photography (Sarnia). One of her great joys was working at the Hamilton Spectator. Tara was dedicated to her parents and gave up her career to spend the last 5 years of her life as their caregiver. Tara had a passion for environmental issues and was a member of CAER (Community Awareness and Emergency Response) in Sarnia. She was smart and made the Dean’s Honour List and was a member of the Golden Key International Honour Society at Brock University. We always thought she should be on Jeopardy. She was an avid reader and enjoyed music, dancing, and camping. She was thrilled with a raging thunder and lightning storm - even in a tent! She had amazing fashion sense and made many of us look better. She was an incredible home decorator and decorated theatre sets in Petrolia and appeared in several stage productions and Murder Mysteries. A highlight for her was when she was recognized as an actor while singing in a Karaoke bar. She had a great voice and also sang in the Church Choir in Petrolia and Brantford. Tara was an amazing cook and could create a gourmet meal from the meagre contents in any fridge. She created many a masterpiece and should have published her own cookbook. After tasting a soup in a high end restaurant, she was able to identify all of the ingredients - including the secret one - to the surprise of the chef. Mostly, she will be remembered for her beautiful deep laugh which came from her soul. She had the ability to see humour in everything and was able to laugh at herself; a rare trait. While camping, she stepped one foot into a canoe. As it drifted from the dock, she did the splits and fell into the lake. She came up laughing and covered in mud, saying that it must have looked so funny! Tara showed us how to enjoy life and all of life’s moments. She will be greatly missed by many. A memorial will be held on Saturday, April 20th at Alexandra Presbyterian Church, 410 Colborne St., Brantford at 11 am with light refreshments to follow. In lieu of flowers, the family would appreciate donations to the SPCA or the Juravinski Hospital Cancer Clinic. Arrangements are entrusted to the Beckett-Glaves Family Funeral Centre, 88 Brant Avenue, 519-752-4331. A tree will be planted in memory of Tara in the Beckett-Glaves Memorial Forest.