Obituaries

CHRISTENA (TENA) BOYD

Christena (Tena) Boyd passed away peacefully, after a battle with cancer, at the age of 89 on Monday, November 3, 2025, at her home in Winnipeg, surrounded by family.

Tena was born on October 14th, 1936 to Roderick and Laura (Ley) Morrison in Boisdale, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. She was the 4th of 13 children; Maryanne, Susan, Martin, Charlie, Joanna, John Jim, Bert, Malcolm, Florence, Beatrice, Laureen, and Gregory.

She is left to mourn by her husband, Alexander Boyd, and her children: Sandy (Anne) Boyd, Laura (James) Fergusson, Andrea (Brent) Mackie, Maureen (John) Wright, Lauchie (Karen) Boyd, Peggy Boyd (Claire), and Ian (Linda) Boyd and her much beloved twenty-two grandchildren and eighteen great-grandchildren.

She was predeceased by son Douglas in 1965.

Tena graduated high school in Iona school and began teaching at age 16 in Morristown. She carried this love of knowledge and early childhood education throughout her life.

She married Alexander Boyd in 1956. They soon moved to Montreal, and then Cranberry Portage before settling in Winnipeg in 1965. When Ian started school, she went to university. With her degree in hand, she taught at both Holy Ghost School and St. Charles Academy. She left teaching for a while to run a family-owned grocery store. In 1984, she returned to her life’s passion of teaching and children by establishing the Academy Kids Daycare with her daughters.

Summers after retirement were spent on the hill in Lakevale, Nova Scotia, overlooking the sea and Cape Breton, greeting a steady flow of family and friends. It was there she planted her roses and enjoyed feeding the birds. Genealogy was important to her: she researched and wrote the Boyd family history for the first family reunion in 1992.

Granny was an intelligent woman who was well read. She kept up on current events and enjoyed spirited discussions with her family on Sunday mornings after Church. Her favourite conversations were the ones where everyone was talking and laughing, and listening was optional! Her iPad kept her connected to friends and family and she was quick to remind her grandchildren to post pictures so she could share them.

She loved generously and, although she had her own large family, she added family in every community she belonged to. Her home was always open, there was always a seat at the table and she greeted anyone who came through with compassion, care, love, and a quick quip.

In her own words, “Cape Breton was home, everything you needed to know about life, you learn in Boisdale.”

Funeral Service will take place at St. Charles Catholic Church, 320 St. Charles St., on Monday November 10th, 2025 at 1:30 PM.