Louise Maheral

ON behalf of my Dad and our family, I would like to thank you for being with us this morning to share in the celebration of Mum’s life.

This is by far the most difficult talk I have ever had to write or give - I was looking for the right words to describe my Mother – words that would adequately describe the matriarch of our family. Mum was smart, hardworking, resilient, fun loving, spiritual and a very private woman. She was born at the beginning of the Second World War in Dundee Scotland. She often regaled us with stories of her childhood – I could only imagine what she experienced when she told us of having a gas mask tucked under her seat in the event of an attack or of having to take shelter when the air raid sirens went off – not knowing if the rest of her family was safe. Always strong academically, mum was a scholarship student at Lawside Academy and later graduated from college with a Nursery Nurse Diploma. Something that my Scottish Gran loved to boast about to anyone who would listen. With opportunities being limited in Scotland - and already being a spirited young woman, at the age of 20 Mum set sail for Canada, along with her younger sister. Canada, she said, the land of opportunity.

Shortly after arriving Mum met Dad – and they were married the following year. Both of them shared a sense of adventure and an entrepreneurial spirit so the first thing they did was buy their first home - a big old drafty church manse. A home that they loved and renovated many times over – a home that hosted many of dad’s siblings and mums relatives over the years – together in this house they creating memories and family stories. Over the next five decades together they would demolish, renovate, design and built more than a dozen times over. For most people this would be daunting work – for Mum and Dad this was a hobby.

Never were two people so completely compatible!

Mum was a very patriotic Canadian and immersed herself in all that was Canada – including many winter sports – she skated and tobogganed with us as kids and when Dad decided it was a great idea to have a skidoo – she participated in it wholeheartedly. The one sport that Mum did not cotton on to was Hockey – that is until the Senators came to town! Then mum became their most rabid fan – often calling me after they scored (especially during playoffs) or God help the ref that called a bad penalty because my sweet mum would be dripping with comments about their poor eyesight or lack of intellect.

When Mum was diagnosed with advanced cancer 3 years ago, we were gutted … and Mum allowed us all one wee cry – then she said “Ok crying won’t help anything - I’m actually kind of lucky - most people don’t know how they’re going to die – I do – I just don’t know when so now my job is to push it off for as long as I can”. And that is just what Mum did - for all of us. Through 17 cycles of chemo / a clinical trial / seeing a homeopath and exercising daily even when she didn’t feel like it – Mum never complained… and she never gave up hope… and she never cried – not for herself. I saw her with a teary eye once – and that was for a young woman in the bed next to her – she had to be in her early 20’s and Mum said “this should not happen to a young person – she hasn’t even begun to live her life yet”. Through all of this Mum's faith was never challenged – if anything, it grew deeper. When some would maybe loose trust in God, Mum put her fate in His hands and prayed daily for help to get through the journey, with all of us. Even as the end drew near she made me promise there would be few tears and nothing maudlin at her service – she asked us to remember the wonderful life she shared with my Dad – the joys of family and friends, the travel … but most of all the privilege of meeting three of her great grandchildren and the knowledge that her grandchildren had married wonderful people with whom she hoped they would share very long and happy lives, as she had with my father.

So in honour of Mum’s wishes I would ask you to share your fun memories of her with us as we navigate the difficult days ahead …. And I will start by sharing a fun story with you – one that Mum and I spoke of just recently and it made her laugh yet again.

New York City was on Mums bucket list – we often talked of making a stop on our annual drive down to Florida but we never did – so, last summer we went to NYC. I booked us in at a boutique hotel near Central Park and we spent 5 glorious days walking everywhere and taking in shows - but one site that was on her list was a visit to Ground Zero –so on our last full day there we made our way to the 9/11 Memorial Site – which, if you’ve been, you will know is a very solemn place – a very moving experience …. reading all of the names engraved on those plaques. By the time we left, we realized it was lunch time – and we chose to eat at “New York’s best pizza parlour” which luckily was nearby. Still feeling the experience, we chatted as we ate our pizzas off of paper plates – apparently also part of the NY pizza experience. Now, Mum had finished chemo only a few months before and was slowly regaining her appetite so we were all thrilled when she announced she’d take another piece of pizza – and she promptly lifted her paper plate for refill - and as she did her eyes grew wide and with a hint of laughter in her voice asked “what happened to my plate?” and as we all looked over we burst into laughter with her - mum had eaten a good chunk of her plate along with her pizza! By that point, she could hardly talk as she was laughing so hard – Rob offered to get her another plate if she was that hungry! Since then anytime we had pizza Rob would offer a paper plate to go with it!

I’d like to end with a Celtic blessing ….. from my Dad to his Scottish lass:

My Dear Sweet Louise,

May the road rise to meet you

May the wind always be at your back

May the sun shine warm upon your face

May the rains fall softly upon your fields

Until we meet again,

May God hold you in the hollow of His hand.

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Louise Maheral (nee Hassan) slipped out of this life and into the next with her loving family by her side on September 1, 2017. Louise leaves behind her soul mate and beloved husband of 56 years Raymond Maheral, her daughters Brenda Maheral and Mandy Hanlon (Rob); her grandchildren Kyle Hanlon (Liz) and Brittany McKennirey (Pierce); and, her great grandchildren Sarah and Victoria Hanlon and Isla McKennirey as well as our extended Maheral family. Born in Dundee, Scotland December 17, 1939 to Charles Hassan (d 1978) and Louisa Gilchrist (d 1993), Louise emigrated to Canada in 1960 with her only sibling Edith (d 2004). Louise and Raymond wed in 1961 and together have lived a very full life with their family and friends and have enjoyed extensive world wide travel. In 1985, upon the birth of her first grandchild Louise left her position with Library and Archives Canada to open a childcare centre, as it had always been her passion to return to her chosen career as she had been a certified "Nursery Nurse" in Scotland (ECE in Canada). Always the visionary entrepreneur, she grew the business and today ABC Daycare Centres continues to provide non-profit childcare services to parents of over 80 Infants, Toddlers and Preschoolers in Ottawa. She was very proud to see that two of her great grandchildren were now flourishing at the centre now run by her daughter Brenda. Mum and Dad wintered at their beautiful home in Kings Point, Florida for the last 20 years where they built strong friendships and enjoyed golfing, socializing and dancing. Mum also enjoyed her tap dancing, clogging and line dancing, as well as paint nite with the girls, lapidary, and reading. Mums greatest passion was hosting family dinners, and the joy of loving her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.