Helen Elizabeth Gardiner was an Order of Canada recipient

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The city has lost one of its most notable cultural philanthropists.

Helen Elizabeth Gardiner, who along with her late husband George established the Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art, died Tuesday, July 22 at her Caledon East home following a brief battle with pancreatic cancer.

Gardiner's death comes just days after her 70th birthday.

Born on July 18, 1938 in Kirkland Lake, Ont., Gardiner (nee McMinn) studied at York University and Christie's Fine Arts School in London, England.

She married her financier husband George Ryerson Gardiner in July 1981 and together they gathered an extensive 3,000-piece collection of ceramics.

In 1984, the couple leased a parcel of land just across the street from the Royal Ontario Museum and founded the Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art.

From 2003 to 2006, Gardiner was also the chair of the museum's ambitious capital campaign, which netted more than $17 million for its renovation and expansion.

The couple's donation to the cultural institution is now valued at more than $40 million.

In the fall of 2006, Gardiner was awarded the Order of Canada for her contributions both monetary and of her time.

She was also a strong supporter of the National Ballet School, the Canadian Opera Company, the Textile Museum of Canada and Soulpepper Theatre.

An endowment fund, created to ensure the continued vitality and success of the Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art, has now been established in her memory.

A funeral service is set to take place Monday, July 28 at 11 a.m. at St. James Cathedral, 65 Church St.

The museum will be closed Monday as a sign of respect for Gardiner.

Gardiner is survived by her daughter Lindy Barrow, her mother Helen McMinn, brother Bob McMinn and his wife Nora and their children.

~ Joanna Lavoie