Mrs. Heaslip was a driving force behind establishing the museum, and her passion for theatre found expression in the roles she played as an active board member, host for garden parties and meetings around her dining room table, and a proofreader of press releases.

Nona brought so much life to Canada’s Theatre Museum for decades, that it is hard for us to imagine that she is gone.

Her love of theatre and its artists will continue to be shared with Canadians thanks to her support of the museum and so many of Canada’s theatre companies. Nona and her husband Bill created The William and Nona Heaslip Foundation, which funds undergraduate Heaslip Scholars in ten universities across Canada as well as supporting many other charitable organizations in the education, arts, and health sectors.

“Thank heavens for the Heaslips” is what founding chair Herbert Whittaker wrote in his diary many years ago after the opening of a Theatre Museum exhibition. He was right.

Here is a link to details about the visitation, and more on her life.