November 22, 1937 – May 31, 2026
Thomasena Boyles Conliffe, at the age of 88, passed away peacefully in her sleep on May 31, 2026, surrounded by family.
Ena was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, on November 22, 1937, the oldest child of James and Frances Johnston. She completed her schooling in Belfast and then took on work in the offices of the Gallaher Tobacco Factory. As an adult, Ena would recall events from her young adult years, when she experienced World War 2 bombings of Belfast and its transition to a more industrial city. Stories always included family members, sometimes those who were just up the street, and other times Ena would recall how she and an uncle would ride through Belfast on a tandem bicycle.
Ena moved from Northern Ireland to Canada in 1955 with her younger brother William to join James and Frances, who had found work and settled in Wawa. Shortly after her arrival, she took on work as one of Wawa’s telephone operators.
In 1957, Ena met Mark Conliffe, who, on summer break from his studies at the Diocesan Theological College in Montreal, had a summer job doing clerical work in the Wawa Algoma Ore office. In 1961 Ena and Mark were married in St Paul’s Anglican Church in Wawa. Following Mark’s being ordained Deacon (1960) and then Priest (1961), Ena and Mark moved to Mark’s first appointment as Assistant Curate at St John’s Anglican Church, Port Arthur, and then shortly after to the Parish of West Thunder Bay.
In these years, Mark James, Michael, and Caroline were born. Ena and Mark moved to St Michael and All Angels in 1968 and served there until 2001. In all the appointments in these years, Ena worked on behalf of the parishes with care, commitment, and generosity, whether it was joining with others to bake hundreds of meat pies for the annual sale, singing in the choir, serving as President of the Diocesan Anglican Church Women (ACW), or as a leader in the St Michael & All Angels Girls Auxiliary (GA) and the 11th Port Arthur cub pack.
Her energy and good humour were infectious, bringing people of all ages together to reach goals through hard work and happiness, and she served in ways that, when taken together, are best understood as a vocation. Indeed, Ena was a special force. She was highly regarded in the Diocese and beyond and, Caroline and Mark have been told, she was strong in her leadership of the ACW. In these same years. Ena worked as a clinic assistant at the Port Arthur office (Red River Rd) of Doctors William Diggins and Clayton Eyjolfson, and on behalf of Statistics Canada, she worked throughout Northwestern Ontario every five years to ensure that the census was brought to all communities.
Ena is survived by her son Mark, daughter Caroline, grandchildren Matthew (Shureeh), Ella, and Claire, brother William, and numerous sisters- and brothers-in law and nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her husband Mark, son Michael, and daughter Belinda Frances in infancy.
Funeral eucharist will be celebrated by the Venerable Deborah Kraft on Monday, June 8, 2026 at 11 am in St Michael & All Angels Anglican Church. Visitation for family and friends will be held on the evening of Sunday June 7 from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm in the Sargent & Son Funeral Chapel, 21 N. Court Street. Should friends desire, donations can be made to the Canadian Hemophilia Society Thunder Bay, the Thunder Bay Health Sciences Foundation, or St Michael &All Angels Anglican Church.
On-line condolences may be made at www.sargentandson.com.
Ena will be greatly missed but her curiosity in others’ stories and her belief that we all can make lasting change in the world will continue to guide us.
