An angel on earth

One of the strongest women that I have every known has left this world. This woman is my Aunt Doris, one of my dad’s four sisters. After years battling and beating myriad sicknesses, and living 31 years with a transplanted kidney (she was the oldest living person with a kidney transplant in Canada), stomach cancer took her from us. She will be greatly missed and loved.

I flew home last Wednesday (01 Nov 2006) to visit her, knowing that her time was limited. While I was at the hospital visiting my aunt, I over heard a visitor call her a “Living Angel”. I couldn’t have described her better if I tried. This woman had a warm heart and a welcoming home, and you could do no wrong in her eyes. She always saw the good in us/people. If you stopped by for the afternoon/night, she would overwhelm you with various refreshments and platters of assorted foods. She always made sure that you were well feed by the time you left.

My aunt lived life to its fullest, taking on its simplicities and complexities, like a bull charging a red blanket. A couple of my aunts favorite past-times included casino hopping and hitting every Saturday garage sale. For the past couple years, my parents regularly accompanied my aunt and uncle to various casinos throughout southern Ontario. Both couples enjoyed these nights, spending money, wining money, laughing and socializing together. Luck was always on their side for I would always hear stories of how much money they won. In addition to frequent visits to Ontario’s casinos, my aunt loved garage sales. She could find something for anyone amongst all the rubble and boy could she bargain.

During the time I was with her these last 5 days, I realized that one of my sayings “Hey Girl” is a modification of her “Hey Babe”. I remember how I loved how she would say it every time we would see each other.

Some of my fondest memories take place at my aunt and uncles farm. Over the years their barn housed pigs, chickens, and cows. Currently they just have cows and one large intimidating yet strangely masculine bull. Sometimes our visits were planned yet others were spontaneous for my family would take a drive and end up at the farm. Once we arrived, on those warm summer nights I would find myself playing in a river that flowed behind their barn. I would drag my siblings there, telling them it would be an adventure. It was always exciting for me because capturing rock bass, crayfish, and other aquatic organisms fancied me, but my siblings bored quickly and never stayed long. I guess this is why I was the only one that pursued biology as a career. Recently my uncle Harold created two large ponds and stocked them with Speckled trout. He brought me to visit them this past Sunday. We (including two cousins, Natalie and Caylen) had a blast feeding trout that averaged 15 inches. I asked my uncle if he fished them and he exclaimed that he would never eat his pets!

Often when my family and I visited, we ended up playing cards. I can remember staying up well past 4:00 am and then getting up at 8:00 am when the first morning riser made a fresh cup of coffee. It wasn’t the temptation of the coffee that woke me (I don’t like coffee) but because I usually slept on the couch in the kitchen I was easily awoken from the pitter patter of adult feet.

Aunt Doris, you were a strong, brave, loving women. My heart and thoughts will always be with you.

Love Candra