Barbara Ellen (née Pritchard) Illingworth

ILLINGWORTH, Barbara Ellen (née Pritchard) – Passed away at the Louise Marshall Hospital on Saturday, February 7, 2026 at the age of 75.

Barbara’s life was a journey of extraordinary accomplishments. Her singing brought her to the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir in her youth, and to Carnegie Hall in later life. She performed in dozens of professional and amateur theatrical productions. She had two careers in which she excelled: first as a home economist, and later as an English and drama teacher at the Mount Forest High School until her retirement. She travelled the world, from Seoul to St. Petersburg. Her secret was to pour her heart and soul into everything she did. 

Barbara was born on November 15, 1950 in Toronto, the oldest daughter of Jack and Evelyn Pritchard. From a young age, Barbara had a passion for the arts, dancing alongside her sister, Patricia (Peter McKinnon). Her love of literature would build a library that never stopped expanding. While attending Emery Collegiate High School, Barbara caught the acting bug, which she never lost. It was also there that she met Peter, the love of her life and husband of 51 years.

Barbara and Peter moved to the Mount Forest area in 1975 to start a family, building their own house and farm outside Kenilworth, and later moving to town in 1989. In her children John (Lesley) and Sarah (Thomas), Barbara instilled her own great sense of curiosity and joy for life, and she took pleasure in fostering those qualities in her beloved grandchildren: Ben, Brynn, Kennedy, Madison, Mairead, Bronwyn, and Mackenzie. 

Barbara’s years of teaching at Mount Forest and Wellington Heights gave her an extended family she cared for deeply. She loved following her former students’ successes and kept in touch with many. Barbara was devoted to giving students the opportunity to experience the thrill of “putting on a show” and she spent countless hours in rehearsals, building sets and making costumes, with the sole purpose of creating a little magic.  Indeed, her greatest success was to teach those she loved what she knew from the very start: that “the world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper”.   

Visitation will be held at the England Funeral Home, 294 Main Street South, Mount Forest on Thursday, February 12^th from 2:00-4:00 & 6:00-8:00 p.m. A private interment will be held at Highland Memory Gardens, North York. 

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in memory of Barbara to the Louise Marshall Hospital Foundation. Online condolences and donations may be made at www.englandfuneralhome.com