Obituary of Ferne Jo Ann Kilbride
Ferne Jo Ann (Speedy) Kilbride
May 1, 1941 - January 13, 2025
Ferne Kilbride, 83, passed away peacefully on Monday, January 13th, 2025, surrounded by her family. Born in Sudbury, Ontario on May 1st, 1941, she was raised in Harvey and McAdam, New Brunswick, by the late Gertrude (Dorcas) Delaney, the late John Douglas Delaney and the late George Dorrien Speedy.
In addition to her brothers, John Delaney (Marise) and Paul Delaney (Shannon), Ferne is survived by her sons, Chris Kilbride (Mylene), Rob Kilbride (Tina); grandchildren, Emile, Audrey, Lily and Samuel, and nieces and nephews, Jillian, Patrick, Rebecca, Michael, Kevin, Nadine, Patricia and Erin.
After losing her father at a young age, Ferne and her mother moved to McAdam in 1952, where Gert met and married Doug Delaney. Gert and Doug raised Ferne to be hard working, helpful and kind, and they encouraged her love of reading and writing from a young age. Soon, Ferne’s 2 younger brothers, John and Paul were born. Ferne was a caring and nurturing big sister who enjoyed playing with and taking care of the boys. This caring and loving way she had with children continued throughout her life.
In 1959, Ferne attended U.N.B where she studied to become a teacher. It was in History class where she met the love of her life, Terry Kilbride. The two were married 8 years later, in 1967. Ferne was the organizer, the cook and the planner, while Terry helped his wife to feel calm and adopt the belief that everything would always work out. It definitely did, as they enjoyed 56 very happy years of marriage.
Ferne loved to be around family. From making her well-loved pineapple chicken casserole, oatmeal cookies and chocolate cake for the Christmas and summer family parties, to entertaining the group with some up-beat piano playing, to organizing family gatherings at Harvey Lake, Ferne enjoyed these special times with the people she loved.
In 1969, Ferne moved to Sudbury, Ontario where she became a high school Special Education teacher. She improved the lives of many students over the years, teaching with patience and kindness. She received her Masters in Special Education and created a program for children with learning disabilities. She finished her career as the head of Special Education programming for schools in the Sudbury area.
Ferne’s family grew with the birth of her 2 sons, Chris and Rob. As a mother, she instilled good values in her children while giving them independence and the courage to take risks. Each day, she filled the home with wonderful smells of home-cooked meals, kept track of countless schedules, sports and activities and brought a general feeling of happiness and security to the home. Every summer and Christmas were spent travelling to New Brunswick to visit grandparents, relatives and her special group of friends. Ferne enjoyed these visits and made sure no home was missed on these trips.
After retiring in 1998, Ferne and Terry spent a year in Phoenix Arizona, and then returned to live in Fredericton, New Brunswick where they lived for the next 17 years. Ferne loved traveling the world with Terry. They had a favourite spot in Spain they returned to for several years.
Her family expanded again with the marriages of Chris and Mylene and Rob and Tina and her new grandchildren, Emile, Audrey, Lily and Samuel. Ferne (Grandma) would bring back special gifts for each of the grandchildren when returning from Spain, and would take any opportunity to spoil them with an ice cream cone or her special oatmeal cookies.
Ferne has been through a lot in her life, battling asthma and other breathing conditions for many years. She has taught us to be strong and to remain optimistic in the face of challenges.
Although we will miss Ferne, and everything that made her the wonderful mother, grandmother, sister, relative, teacher and friend that she was, we can feel happy in the thought that she will now be with her love, Terry. We will love and miss her always.
A funeral service will be held for Ferne on Saturday, July 12th, 2025, at 2:00 pm at the Wilmot United Church in Fredericton, NB. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Asthma Canada at https://www.asthma.ca/donate.