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H. Dawn Broughton
September 21, 1931 - February 22, 2016
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<div itemprop="description">H. Dawn Broughton<br />(n&eacute;e MacAulay)<br />1931 - 2016<br /><br />It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our mother on Monday, February 22nd, 2016 at the age of 84. Dawn was born in Quebec City to Lt. Col. Malcolm Thomas Gordon (1897 - 1984) and Evelyn May (1904 - 2001) MacAulay and grew up with two older brothers, Gordon Douglas (1924 - 1987) and Malcolm George (1926 - 1974). She attended McGill University, where she played on several sports teams, and graduated in 1952 with a B.Sc. (FS). Dawn worked as a hospital dietician until 1956, when she married M. Blythe Broughton (1929 - 1995), an electrical engineer from Oakville. The two of them lived in Toronto while Blythe completed his Masters degree at U of T and then returned to Quebec so that he could join A. V. Roe. When the Avro Arrow program was cancelled in 1959, Blythe accepted a faculty position at RMC, and he and Dawn moved to Kingston. Together, they built a split-level house for their new family in Pittsburgh Township, and quickly embraced their new city and its military, school and church communities.<br /><br />Dawn and Blythe had four sons - Thomas Stephen (Anna), George Robert (Diane), John &ldquo;Jack&rdquo; Gordon (Elaine), and Andrew James (Marisa). There is no doubt that the experience of looking after five males -after enduring two older brothers - contributed significantly to Dawn&rsquo;s physical resilience, strength of character and sense of humour. A strong, loving family was very important to her. She set high standards, and with her practical &ldquo;Scottish nature&rdquo;, she efficiently organized the household so that everyone always had what they needed and no pennies were wasted. Summers were generally spent visiting relatives, attending family reunions and camping. However, she also enjoyed living in Vancouver, Shrivenham, Canberra, and Annapolis during Blythe&rsquo;s sabbaticals, and later taking trips to Europe, Israel and driving to many destinations in Canada and the US - including Alaska. Ultimately though, it was the family cottage that became the primary focus for family gatherings, projects and activities - and over time, the source of many, many wonderful memories.<br /><br />After Blythe died shortly after retiring in 1995, Dawn rallied on to lead an active life in her community on her own. She was quite passionate about discovering and documenting her family&rsquo;s genealogy - like her favourite aunt, Annie Isabel Sherman (1901 - 1997) - and this led to her starting a small research business. She also did some more travelling and still visited the cottage whenever she could. When Dawn decided it was finally time to slow down, she moved her home to St. Lawrence Place and continued to socialize with her family and many good friends, play bridge, and enjoy reading.<br /><br />Throughout her years in Kingston, Dawn was always a pillar of Chalmers United Church. She was a conscientious &ldquo;Let&rsquo;s get it done&rdquo; volunteer there, and also worked with several other organizations, including Chalmers Green Nursery School, Meals on Wheels, the Genealogical Society, and the Frontenac County Schools Museum. Dawn was known for her work ethic, generosity, quick wit, dependability and respectfulness, and for her welcoming, caring and uncomplicated nature. Nevertheless, she could also be quite independent and determined, and never shied away from challenges in doing what she considered to be the right thing. Dawn dearly loved her grandchildren, Samantha, Jaimie, Hannah, Emily, Abbey, Michael and Mackenzie, and always wanted the best for them.<br /><br />A memorial service will be held on Thursday, March 10th at 2:30 PM at Chalmers United Church, 212 Barrie St., Kingston, with a reception afterwards. Arrangements are in the care of Robert J. Reid &amp; Sons funeral home. Memorial donations may be made to Chalmers United Church, and condolences and memories may be forwarded to the family at DawnBroughton@kos.net <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></div>