Marian-Ellen Andie Ring, wife, mother, daughter, sister, friend, teacher, and more to so many, passed away on Monday, May 4, 2020, in Montreal.

Born in Kamloops, British Columbia on January 16, 1965 and raised in Montreal, Andie spent most of her adult life teaching Humanities at Dawson College and living in Notre-Dame-de-Grâce. Passionately devoted to human rights, she spent much of her available time volunteering at the Welcome Collective. She loved gardening. Over the years, she took a desolate patch of hard earth, and transformed it into a flourishing English garden, filled with many colors, scents and textures.

Andie loved her husband and three children dearly, and home life was so very important to her. Every day, she brought love, laughter, kindness, and hope into the family home. She had a keen critical eye, a tremendous sense of humor, a hunger for knowledge, and a deep desire to make her home the best it could be for her family. Andie cherished every moment she spent in it with them.

Andie was curious and loved to learn about so many things. From philosophy to neuroscience, from Jane Austen to Dashiell Hammett, if it was quality, she was into it. No matter a person’s age, background or personal interests, she could and would have a meaningful conversation with anyone. Tradition was so important to her that Christmas and Easter brunch were always crowned by her exquisite Eggs Benedict. Family and friends were so important to her, that her return trip to the site of her honeymoon on her 25th anniversary was shared by over twenty people, who spent a week celebrating her marriage in Elizabeth Bay, Jamaica; she organized a yearly weekend at Camp Nutmeg in upstate New York for her family and closest friends and held regular movie nights at her home for her beloved nieces and nephews.

Adjectives and superlatives do not do justice to her, nor to her time among us. She will be missed deeply by all who knew her.

Andie was a profound inspiration and had a benevolent influence on her family. She is survived by her husband Mario Melillo, daughter Camelia Melillo and her partner Spencer O’Gallagher, sons Patrick Melillo and his partner Sara Bou, and Alexander Melillo and his partner Zoe Zetka Petrigrew; mother Marian Harvie and stepfather Jacques Fortin; father James Ring and stepmother Elaine Roy; brother Robert Ring and his wife Stéphanie Beauregard, nephew Thomas Ring and niece Gabrielle Ring; sister Genevieve Ring and her partner Bruce Stapleton, nieces Sarah Stapleton and her partner Edmond Vlandis, Ariane Stapleton, and Katia Stapleton; brother Timothy Ring and his wife Nadine Paree, nephew Nolan Ring and niece Harlow Ring; sister Sarah Ring, nieces Maud Bélair and her partner Zack Brookman, Zoe Ducharme and Elsa Ducharme, and their father Denis Ducharme; step-sister Nathalie Fortin and her husband Marc Garand and their daughters Gabrielle and Dominique, step-brother Bernard Fortin and his daughters Justine and Camille, and his wife Guylaine Edmond and her sons Ludovic and Sasha, and step-sister Marie-Noëlle; mother-in-law Dr. Lucie Lavoie Melillo, father-in-law Dr. Carlo Melillo (predeceased); sister-in-law Nina Melillo and her husband Jeano Abraham, nephew Jean-Philippe Abraham and his wife Katie Abraham and their daughter Skyler Abraham, nephew Pierre-Paul Abraham and his partner Krista Leonard; sister-in-law Lili Melillo and her husband Terry Barnaby, niece Olivia Barnaby and her partner Matt Losey, nephew Hugo Barnaby and partner Melina Jalbert; sister-in-law Pia Melillo and her husband Jean-Pierre Houle, nephew Tristan Houle and his wife Julie Latendre, and niece Adrianna Houle.

Also sharing in the mourning of her death, are her large extended families in Ontario and British Columbia, her many dear friends, her colleagues and fellow volunteers.

A private burial will be held on Friday, May 8, at 1:00 pm. Those who would have wanted to attend but are unable to due to the current restrictions on large gatherings, are encouraged to observe their own ceremony at that time, in the privacy of their homes. An announcement about a public celebration will be made when the restrictions are lifted.

Donations in her memory can be made to the Welcome Collective (https://www.welcomecollective.org/en/donate), Cedars Cancer Foundation or the MAB MacKay Rehabilitation Center.