Elisabeth Tesni Steel (née Cemlyn-Jones) passed away peacefully on January 17, 2025, at the age of 96.  She was born in London, England on July 13, 1928, the youngest of four children in a family originally from north Wales.  Her mother died shortly after her second birthday, so she moved in with her grandmother until she died when Tesni was seven.  Tesni then moved to Wales to live with her Aunt Dilys' family.

Tesni had dreamed of moving to Canada since she was a child.  Knowing that Canada needed nurses, she became a nurse and midwife in London, England and was able to emigrate to Canada in the 1950s. She worked as a nurse in Montreal until 1956 when she married David A.B. Steel.  Tesni and David moved to Toronto where David practiced corporate law and Tesni became a full time wife and mother, welcoming 6 children in 10 years. While Tesni and David divorced after 34 years of marriage, they remained on good terms until David's death in 2010.

Tesni loved being a mother and grandmother. She was creative, open-minded and greatly valued education.  She read avidly and was gifted at gardening and needlework.  Tesni loved bridge, jigsaw puzzles and cryptic crosswords.   She was an early advocate for natural childbirth, feminism and recycling.  As a Unitarian, she believed in community and helping people in need. Her kindness to others was often very practical, such as when she welcomed an extended family of 11 refugees from Viet Nam into her home.  Tesni enjoyed an active life with friends and family until failing health prompted a move to long term care when she was 90.

She is remembered with love and affection by her surviving children Marion Steel, Anita Phillips and Piers Steel, and by her eight grandchildren.