November 22, 1937 – May 31, 2026
Thomasena Boyles Conliffe, who was 88 years old, died peacefully in her sleep on May 31, 2026, surrounded by her family.
Ena was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, on November 22, 1937. She was the eldest child of James and Frances Johnston. After finishing school in Belfast, she began working at the Gallaher Tobacco Factory offices. Ena often reminisced about her younger years during World War II when Belfast faced bombings and transformed into a more industrial city. Her stories frequently included family members; sometimes they were just down the street or involved adventures with an uncle riding a tandem bicycle through the city.
In 1955, Ena relocated from Northern Ireland to Canada with her younger brother William to join their parents who had settled in Wawa for work. Not long after arriving, she became one of Wawa’s telephone operators.
In 1957, Ena met Mark Conliffe while he was home from his studies at Diocesan Theological College in Montreal for summer break and doing clerical work at the Wawa Algoma Ore office. Ena and Mark tied the knot at St Paul’s Anglican Church in Wawa in 1961. Following Mark’s ordination as Deacon (1960) and later as Priest (1961), they moved to his first position as Assistant Curate at St John’s Anglican Church in Port Arthur and soon after to the Parish of West Thunder Bay.
During this time, their children Mark James, Michael, and Caroline were born. In 1968 they moved to St Michael and All Angels where they served until 2001. Throughout these years in various appointments, Ena dedicated herself to supporting church activities with care and generosity-whether it was baking hundreds of meat pies for fundraisers or singing in the choir; she also served as President of the Diocesan Anglican Church Women (ACW) and led both the St Michael & All Angels Girls Auxiliary (GA) and the cub pack for Port Arthur.
Ena’s vibrant energy and humor united people across generations towards shared goals through hard work and joyfulness. Her contributions can be seen as a calling that truly made a difference. She held great respect within the Diocese; Caroline and Mark have heard how strong she was as a leader of ACW during these times. Alongside her church commitments, Ena worked as a clinic assistant at Doctors William Diggins’ and Clayton Eyjolfson’s Port Arthur office on Red River Rd., plus every five years she helped ensure census data collection throughout Northwestern Ontario for Statistics Canada.
Ena is survived by her son Mark, daughter Caroline, grandchildren Matthew (Shureeh), Ella, Claire; brother William; along with many sisters- and brothers-in-law plus nieces and nephews. She is preceded by her husband Mark as well as son Michael and infant daughter Belinda Frances.
A funeral eucharist will be officiated by Venerable Deborah Kraft on Monday June 8th at 11 am at St Michael & All Angels Anglican Church. Family visitation will take place Sunday evening June 7th from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm at Sargent & Son Funeral Chapel located at 21 N Court Street. For those wishing to contribute donations may be made to Canadian Hemophilia Society Thunder Bay or Thunder Bay Health Sciences Foundation or St Michael & All Angels Anglican Church.
You can leave online condolences at www. sargentandson. com.
Ena will surely be missed but her interest in others’ stories along with her belief that everyone has power to create lasting change will continue inspiring us all.
