Olive Warner Turner Hubbell
December 16th, 1925 - March 16th, 2025
Our family has lost our guiding light and Yoga Master. Our mother, Olive Warner Turner Hubbell, born December 16, 1925, passed away gently, on her terms, on 26 March 2025 at the age of 99. She continued to teach her chair yoga well into her 100th year.
Her amazing life spanned the last 100 years of civilizations progress. She lived as a British Citizen, a Canadian citizen and an American citizen. Born in Colchester, Essex England her childhood spanned the Great Depression and the start of World War II. Near the end of WW11 she met and married Dad, a Canadian soldier in 1944. Following almost immediately after D Day, Dad was critically wounded and sent directly back to Canada to convalesce. This left Mum, a new member of the Canadian War brides Association, to make the long journey by ship and train, to join him in Toronto, Canada along with their firstborn son (Michael 1945). Arriving in Halifax, mum was inspired by the feeling of welcoming that the Canadians displayed to all these women coming to Canada to join their husbands. From the crowds that lined the streets of Halifax, to the people along the sides of the CNR railway that waved at her trainload of War Brides as it passed by, she felt an immediate sense of belonging to this new and vast country that she was being introduced to.
Starting their new life together in Toronto, and surrounded by multiple in laws, the second born son (Richard 1947) arrived. At the end of the 1940s the family moved to Nakina Ontario; the furthest north whistle stop on the CNR. Dad’s role as the local CNR cop allowed the family the privilege of living in a converted boxcar on CNR property 22 feet from the edge of the railway line. The daily schedule of freight and passenger trains passing by the single track, going east and west across Canada, beside our house resonated in our family’s soul, because the house shook so much as they went by.
Deep in the heart of the Canadian Shield, in a land of abundant natural beauty, the firstborn daughter (Lesley) arrived in 1949. In the 1950s, where everything had to come into town on the railway, life was good. No commercial air traffic, no roads to the outside world, no department stores except for the Bay, Mum had to improvise. Teaching herself how to sew to make her kids clothes, learning how to cook moose meat and pickerel and learning how to make the best wild blueberry pie ever. Summers spent with her at our log cabin on the lake are memories that have lasted a lifetime; both hers and ours.
In 1957 the family moved to Fort Erie Ontario and shortly after that in 1960, the second born daughter (Gayle) joined the family followed closely by the third son (Robert) in 1963.
At this point mum began her lifelong journey with yoga, continuing her growth until she became an instructor. She was a calm; compassionate instructor and she shared her joy of the discipline for the remainder of her life. She also worked for the Fort Erie Jockey Club for 25 years.
Following dad’s death in 1977 mum met and married a Buffalo New York sports announcer and TV personality Ralph Hubbell and this was the start of her American citizenship. They lived in upper New York state until Ralph passed away. Mum then moved to North Carolina to share her life with Gayle’s family and the grandchildren were a constant source of joy. When North Carolina’s winters became too much for mum she took an opportunity to move to Florida with Richard where she continued teaching her chair yoga to a whole new group of enthusiasts.
Seven years ago, mum decided she wanted to return home to her Canadian roots, and she moved into Garrison Place so that she could be close to Lesley and where once again she continued to teach classes in chair yoga.
She was predeceased by dad (Richard Arthur Turner), her second husband Ralph, her sister Jean, her brother Ken, her son Richard (Richard Clinton Turner) and her brother Gordon.
She was:
The love of her life to dad.
A great comfort to Ralph and caring stepmom to the Hubbell’s.
Mother to five children.
Grandmother to eleven grandkids.
Great-Grandmother to eight great-grandkids.
Great-Great Grandmother to three great-great grandkids.
We love you mum, the kids
Mick, Rick, Les, Gayle, Robbie.
