Pauline Anne Garrett Dyer

The world was made a brighter place on March 30, 1954, as Mona and Llewelyn (“Lewis”) Garrett welcomed Pauline Anne into the world. She was born in the town of Douglas on the idyllic Isle of Man. As she never missed an opportunity to tell her future daughters every time they squabbled, all Pauline ever wanted was a sister. But, alas, she was to remain an only child.

Pauline was a consummate tomboy as a child; happier climbing a tree than dressing a doll. She excelled at school – always top of her class – and dreamed of becoming a museum curator. Unfortunately, the loss of her father at the age of 17 meant Pauline had to go to work to help her mom and those aspirations never came to fruition.

She was only 13 when a young lad named Paul sent a friend over to ask her out. Although the first few years were “on again, off again” Pauline always knew she had met her soulmate. So, naturally, when Paul decided to move to Canada Pauline had no qualms about leaving her home, family and friends behind for a new adventure. The two were wed at the tender ages of 19 and 20 and they headed off to Toronto to start their married life together.

Pauline was in her new home for only a couple of days before starting administrative work at McGraw Edison. This is where she met Ray Bethke and George Alexander, who would soon after start their own company, Cross Canada Electric. Pauline joined the team and many of her co-workers became lifelong friends.

In amongst the work, Pauline gave birth to the two lights of her life – her daughters, Amanda and Susan. She was infinitely patient and kind, always made time to help with homework, and let her girls have pretty much anything they wanted. On Saturdays when Paul was working and Pauline had to take the girls grocery shopping, she would allow them to each pick an outfit for their Barbies with one stipulation… “Just don’t tell your father.”

When Cross Canada shut its doors, Pauline found work with Modrobes in downtown Toronto. The average age of the staff was mid-20s and skateboards and foosball tables were as much office furniture as desks. Pauline was a mother hen to the whole staff, who in turn helped to “keep her young.”

Speaking of young, once Pauline’s own girls became women and moved out of the house, Pauline was worried about the empty nest. But actually found joy in quiet evenings watching TV and movies with Paul and weekend visits with her adored grandchildren, Justyn and Mikayla, her daughters and their husbands, Mike and Drew.

It was around the time of Mikayla’s birth that Pauline’s company shut down and she found herself looking for work. She was deeply anxious about job hunting given her age, but CDSPI was smart enough to see a good thing and quickly snatched her up. Pauline absolutely loved her job, taking great pride in her work and always striving to go above and beyond what was asked of her. A large part of why she took so much joy from her days between the weekends was the people who made CDSPI her home away from home.

In her time off, Pauline loved to chat with her cousins overseas (who she considered sisters), looked forward to dinners with her “girls,” counted the days between trips to Disney and never saw a sweet she didn’t like.

Through all of this Pauline quietly fought a terrible disease called Lupus, never complaining and always showing strength in adversity. She was a daily inspiration to all who loved her and all who knew her. The world lost her light on Sunday, December 1, 2013, with her devoted husband and beloved daughters at her side. Pauline will be forever remembered in the hearts of all those lucky enough to know her.