Dora or Auntie Dora as she was called in our family was an unbelievably kind and strong woman.  You couldn’t’ help but love her.  She knew more people in our neighborhood than I did, and our dog Ming, was attached to her hip when she came to visit.  She was so gracious and warm; people were just drawn to her.  I wonder if she realized the immense amount of influence she had on others.  The immense amount of light she shed on my life.  I remember when I last visited her she was receiving several letters from all the people she had touched.  I was lucky that I was one of them.  Lucky that every year, twice a year without fail she would come visit us, even when she was in her 80’s and had to take a long solitary bus ride to get here.
She was so sweet and good natured but man was she fierce when she needed to defend those she cared about.  I remember when my sister and I visited for 2 weeks to attend a summer dance camp.  When we were unhappy she walked right up to the director and tired to make it better for us.  And one day, while we rode the bus she told two big guys to either stop swearing or to get off the bus.  She didn’t like them using that language around us.  The funny thing was that they stopped right away.  She was passionate about those that she loved.
She was passionate about life.  Anyone could tell that she lived life completely to the fullest.  She made me want to do the same; she was infectious in that way.  She was so positive and happy, even despite the things that she had gone through in her life.  As I got a little older she began to tell me more about her life, her husband, and her upbringing.  One day when I was in high school I skipped school all day and stayed home with her.  She told me stories about her experiences, things that I could not even imagine going through.  She had so much strength to come out of such things with such a kind heart.  She was a role model for us in that way, but also a great friend to my mother.  She would stay up late into the night talking, and listening to her, watching the shows that we all refused to watch.  She was patient and loving.
I thought and will think of her constantly.  She had and will inform my entire life and how I look at things.  I am thankful she has been such a huge part of me these past years.  By what miracle did we manage to find her, and to have her become such a vital part of our family?  She was the only one who came to visit us all the way in California consistently.  We were so lucky to have such a beautiful person care so deeply for us.  And she had more faith in me and what I could accomplish than I could ever have in myself.  She saw so much in my family and I.  I only hope that she recognized how much we saw in her.

For the last 8 months, the news about Auntie Dora has been like a hammer, slowly pounding away at the side of my head.  All the strangers I pass on the street seem lucky and light because they do not have to bear the thought of losing someone like her.  The truth of course is that I am the lucky one.  Not many are fortunate enough to have been loved by someone like Auntie Dora.  Auntie Dora was a gift.  She was my childhood.  She was a source of joy and timeless humor.  She was way-too-old leftovers for lunch and colorful hats at the airport.  She grew younger over time, like a miracle every time she came back to San Francisco she looked to me more and more beautiful.  Her influence on my life will never be measured or understood, even by me.  Her stories move outward like ripples in the water.  Friends of friends know the name; have heard about this time and that time.  She allowed me to love and shared with me her stories and personality.  I can only say thank you to everyone who knew Auntie Dora for sharing her with me, making me one of the luckiest people I know.

My Inspiration, by Kayla Berryman 

Dear Dora, 

“You know, I volunteer with the old folk”

On dear Dora, respectively you’re eighty-four.  Whether you are singing with your choir, or chatting with your writing group, your adorable smile and British accent never cease to inspire me.
Three summers ago you got on the wrong bus and found yourself stranded on the top of a highway overpass.  But instead of playing the damsel in distress, you saved yourself and caught a ride with three twenty something’s and educated them on Shakespearean literature.  
Kind to all, and slow to judge, your advice is always warm and desired.  You’re so strong and feisty, not willing to stop living until your pace maker conks out.  “A hospital?"  Bah.  I’ve got other things to do,” As you busy yourself with tea and time with friends.
You have taught us many things, always leading by example.  For instance, never judge anyone, no matter what kind of cake they like.  To sing your heart out, even if you’re in a bathroom stall.  To never be mediocre, but loud and vibrant.  To go big or go home, especially with lipstick shades.  To follow your heart, and to never let someone else define you.  And finally, that wet seagulls don’t fly at night.
Building sandcastles at the lake, you told us not to worry about them.  That we were better, stronger, smarter.  And that whoever broke your heart wasn’t’ worthy of your tears.
But you deserve my tears.  Unknown to all it came.  Like the night it appeared.  Black and unknown.  My world fell around me, the day my Mom told me that your darkest hour was near.  And yet, when we rushed to see you, you wouldn’t let us visit for your hair and lipstick weren’t done.
You fight till the end, and I wish I could too.  You inspire me Dora, more than Shakespeare ever could

DORA’S SUNSET( written on Poros Greece in memory of my friend Dora Preston, by Ruth Kozak )

The night I learn you had left us,
I walk the seaside promenade
by Poros’ harbour
and paused, remembering.
The sunset has turned the sea
into a pool of crimson
And against the blazing sky 
a four-masted sailing ship
lies at anchor
I remember you, the free spirit,
You who wore purple and buttercup yellow.
You danced in floral frocks,
amused us with funny stories
about an old lady named Clover.
I still hear your sweet voice,
singing, laughing. I search that crimson sunset sky,
say prayers, remember you.

The next day, on Kanali beach,
I wade into the water.
A gull soars overhead,
a small white bird circling as though it is watching me.
My tears mix with the sea salt.
Is it your spirit
soaring over the blue Aegean sea?
I hear the gentle trill of your voice, telling me not to cry.
How could it be that you are gone,taken from us too soon?

Dora, you will always be remembered.

Dear Glenys & Ray and families

I always enjoyed being around Aunt Dora. Always remember her as a fun loving person. Dora and my Dad would always lead the singing at the family parties my Dad at the piano and Dora singing and dancing.
Both Lynn and I enjoyed seeing Dora and Glenys back in the fall of 2009 in Ontario. It was a special memory to see Dora and hear her stories. She will be missed. To Ray and Glenys we send our sympathies to you and your families. Lynn & Ian

Dora could brighten up a room with her smile and laughter - we loved her stories and her singing too - she will be greatly missed by us all in Bournemouth - Dora was one of a kind - caring, funny and a joy to have known with boundless energy for life. She is a true star sparkling bright as ever!!

When I first started at West End Writers, I remember Dora reading from one of her stories with the characters of the story based on some of the people who were part of the  West End Writers. It was hilarious as she had a unique way of story telling. She will be sadly missd by all those who knew her.

I met Dora at a writing group here in Vancouver.
As well as enjoying her sparkling personality and well-writen stories I admired her thoughtful insights and genuine caring about all of us.
Thank goodness for Dora!
Helen

Mrs. P,  you will always be remembered by us all.  You were such an important part of our lives growing up.  You always made us feel so special.  Your kindness and love for us will never be forgotten.  We all love you.

The Douglas Family
xoxo

Mrs. Preston,
    Even now,the thought of you warms my heart. I am better for having known you, as are many others,I am sure. I will always cherish my memories of you and you will continue to live in my heart, forever. I love you!

  p. s. Love the picture !

 Reggie B

The first time i met Dora i was 5 years old she helped me build a sand castle with my brother and sister she would help us make it 
she would tell us to go get wet sand so it would stay up better and make it strong we would all play bocci together on the beach. We some times would go to see the Simpsons movie together. I remember she took me to my old school Saint Helens parking lot to ride my bike sorry Glenys and Dan for your loss from Anthony.

Dear Doras family
I will always remember your Mom singing doing the gardening at the New Chelsea. When she would attend the Pub nights and Picnics  that were put on she was always one of the first to get in on the sing alongs I always thought to myself "When I get older I want to have that same spark that she has .. what a happy soul she is.I hope I have her love of life and energy" Dora will be missed by my Family she was a One of a kind. What a beautiful woman she was  Heart and soul. 
we love you Dora God bless you.
Linda Cross( and Daryl)

To Glenys and Raymond and families.

Aunt Dora - an creative inspiring person is gone but truly not forgotten. My first memory of Dora was seeing her and John in the shadows of the front door outside the entrance of 272 Selby Road. I especially remember her familiar laugh and cheerful attitude towards life. 
In 1952, we all traveled together to Canada. The start of this journey from Leeds to London was less than auspicious as my parents were left on the train platform and I was in the carriage! I don't remember being concerned at all as I was with John and Dora. John persuaded the conductor to hold the train and at the third stop my parents caught up. 
Growing up in Ontario, I have many memories of Dora. When they lived in Toronto, I was invited for a holiday and Dora took me to see "Around the World in 80 Days" and also let me type on her typewriter, the first time I had ever used such a machine.I remember her hosting the whole family at their home in Palgrave with a spread of home grown food and how proud she was of her garden. We often went to their house during the Christmas season as Glenys had her birthday then. Dora always had songs, games and activities for the younger members of the family. Even though life was often difficult for her, Dora was unfailingly optimistic and cheerful, always trying to make the best of the situation. Dora and my mom, both being relatives by marriage only, were very close. I know that my mother always cherished her friendship. After John passed away and Dora had moved to BC we lost touch for a while. Fortunately in the last few years we reconnected and visited her in Vancouver. I still remember seeing her for the first time at the ferry dock and thinking that she hadn't changed a bit. She greeted us with such a friendly warm smile. She was still the lively, witty and outgoing personality that I remembered. She ran our (much younger) legs off showing us around Vancouver! When she and Glenys came to Ontario, it was a pleasure to see her interact with her other nephews and nieces and their families as she reconnected after so many years.I think we all felt that we had missed out on a vibrant and talented personality for too long and were the poorer for it. Dora was a survivor and I often thought of her as "the unsinkable Molly Brown". No matter what happened to her or what life obstacles were in her way, she could rise above it and with grace and charm. Not many people can do that.She was an inspiration to us and will be sorely missed.To Ray and Glenys and their families we give our deepest sympathies. 
Barry and Joyce Preston, Julie , Jeff and Christine and family

Dora, 
You have inspired so many of us in the writing community, with your attitude, your humour, your zest for living and your fabulous stories.  I don’t think I ever told you how much I loved and envied the way you could just start singing whenever the mood hit.  You have always, truly lived one gracious and vivacious moment after another.  I think of how kind and generous you have been with your writer friends.  I think of your character Clover -  her incredible and hilarious antics and how you entertained all of us with that world of hers you imagined.  And I thank God, that it has been my good fortune to know you.

dear Dora,
I considered myself privileged to have known you. 
I will always remember your joy of life, sense of humour, eagerness to help others, your lovely stories and your voice. I am sure you will share Clover's experiences wherever you are and bring love around you as you did  with many of us.
I will treasure all the moments we spent together and will miss you dearly.
To Glenys and Ray: I am sorry for your loss, you had a wonderful mom.
Raquel Garcia

Glenys, Ray and family
How do we say all that should be said about the amazing person who was Dora?  And how to do it in a manner worthy of Dora’s unique writing skills?  A conundrum wrapped in a teacake, that’s for sure.   
Perhaps we may be allowed to speak on behalf of all those others whose lives have been touched by Dora and who can’t be represented here today – the many friends and acquaintances, fellow writers, line dancers, debaters, singers, and recipients of Dora’s kind and thoughtful ministrations both as a care aide and later when assisting her “blind friend” as an entertainer, and the podiatrist herding up the elderly (many of whom were a lot younger than she) ready for monthly toenail clipping. 
Dora was the ultimate human being.  She saw no wrong in anyone and was always willing to help even those who didn’t deserve it or appreciate her.  She gave her time, her wisdom and her warmth freely and gladly and was unfailingly generous even though she couldn’t afford to be.  She was the life and soul of any party or gathering and nothing was too much for her when it came to helping another.
A courageous lady who reinvented herself at an age when others would have considered their lives nearly over, Dora threw herself wholeheartedly, passionately into a myriad of activities that excited and challenged her. She put most of us – older and younger – to shame with her energy and enthusiasm; she only rested briefly between bursts of super activity.  Her day started with exercises, eating breakfast while watching the shows she had taped because she was rarely at home when they first aired, then packing snacks and writing materials into her backpack and trotting off up the road for whichever bus she had decided to take that day to whatever destination – choir practice, Mind Matters, Scribblers, West End Writers, line dancing, or to visit with a someone who relied on her for company to name a few of this incredible lady’s commitments.  Then home again later, perhaps writing a letter or two and heading back downtown to mail them at the main post office.  And for several years she combined all this with volunteer duties as the sole gardener at the New Chelsea buildings.  But she always had time for, and enjoyed thoroughly, her visits to Castlegar, Courtenay, San Francisco and England because family was the mainstay of Dora’s life.
There were bad times in Dora’s life but she chose to treat them as challenges and never allow them to drag her down and destroy her natural optimism as when she had to leave the convenience of the West End for the east side of Vancouver.  She focussed on the positives of her new location and minimized the travelling to and fro by varying routes and getting it down to a fine art.  And always she was grateful for a loving, caring family, a huge circle of friends and what she considered to be the great good fortune to be able to do what she wanted, when she wanted, how she wanted.  If asked, she would likely say that she’d been blessed with good health and good fortune and was grateful to be so lucky.  Dora knew how to grab onto life with both hands and revel in the ride.  We have a lot to learn from her.
Damien and I will always remember Dora nodding off on our garden bench after hours of digging out the compost (don’t worry about me, I’m pacing myself) or having to threaten her to come in out of the rain (no,  I’m not getting wet; see I’m sheltering under this twig), her ingenuity in torturing the proper names of plants, the sharing of memories of the “good old days” that included radio programs, early movies, Yorkshire idioms, and very occasionally a minor heated disagreement over some totally irrelevant event. And how our friends’ doubts, on being advised they were to meet our octogenarian friend, would turn to delight as she charmed them into total devotion over dinner or a cup of tea.  We will miss how her mouth opened as soon as her foot touched the bottom stair at our house and the words, questions and observations began to tumble out as they would for the rest of the day, interspersed with burst s of song and brief catnaps.   And having our sentences finished for us (usually incorrectly) and who now will finish up the unwanted cereals, mouldy fruit, and forsaken jam? There is definitely a hole in our lives in the shape of a pretty little blonde lady, whose sparkling eyes, unlined skin and vivacity belied her age but the void is partially filled by wonderful memories invoked by her generous spirit.
So goodbye dear Dora - Mrs Malaprop, our own Black Gold Queen, creator of Clover –the irascible senior brought to life by Dora’s voice, Film Critic Extraordinaire, and irreplaceable Treasure.  Our pink Eveready bunny whose batteries we thought could never run down.
We were so very happy and privileged to have had you in our lives and grateful you will continue to be with us every day.


When I shared these words with Dora during one of our after dinner chats, she related to Ms Rossetti's sentiments so I repeat them here in the hope they help us in dealing with our grief.

Remember me when I am gone away,
Gone far away into the silent land;
When you can no longer hold me by the hand,
Nor I half turn to go, yet turning stay.
Remember me when no more day by day
You tell me of our future that you had plann'd:
Only remember me; you understand
It will be late to counsel then or pray.
Yet if you should forget me for a while
And afterwards remember, do not grieve:
For in the darkness and corruption leave
A vestige of the thoughts that once I had,
Better by far you should forget and smile
Than that you should remember and be sad.
Christina Georgina Rossetti

Dora was a member of our Scribblers writing group for many,many years. She  brightened our group every Monday evening, entertaining us with her Clover stories, her cheery comments, her zany sense of humour. She also had such deep wisdom and empathy. A truly remarkable woman. She is very sadly missed, but we are blessed beyond measure to have had her in our lives. Her voice will forever be etched in my memory. I'm so sorry I'm not able to make it over for her service. Much love and sympathy to all her family and her friends.

Glenys and family:

Dora was a founding member of the Vancouver Scribblers and it is hard for us to accept that we will never again hear her delightful voice reading stories of Clover's misadventures. She entertained and amused, embraced and supported, loved and counseled. Her stories live on. We cannot forget.

Please accept our condolences. We share in your grief.

-Wayne Gatley

I'll always remember Dora as a forever young kind of woman, full of hope and optimism, who was always game for adventure and excitement. She could also write the pants off of anyone half her age. Her stories about Clover kept us in stitches, partly because we knew how much that character was Dora. I hope that when I grow up I'll be as funny and youthful as Dora.

Dora, your zest for life is what I will remember most about you. You truly are a very special Lady.

I scribbled in the Scribblers' writing group for four months with Dora. She was so bright and funny. She wrote:
"You use words like a basketball player-who hits the net repeatedly but always gets it in obliquely-like off the wall-even your opponent would laugh and say wow." Devilishly funny, Dora 
I'll always remember her reading my story to me.

Dear Dora,

This world has lost one of it's most precious gems.  Your smile and laughter are burned in my memory forever.  Your wonderful stories of life and history will be carried on by the many children you shared your experiences with.  You have been so very special to so many.  I doubt you could ever comprehend how many lives you've touched.

You shared your gifts of writing, reading,  theatre, singing, compasion and love of life.  You unselfishly helped your friends in need.

My children and family have benefited from knowing you.  Anthony said you were the best sandcastle builder ever.  Lydia shares your love of music.  Frankie will always remember you as being young.

It's comforting to know that Glenys and Raymond were with you in the end.

We will all miss you very much.

God Bless,
Darcy Sarra and family

Dora

Deepest sympathies to the Preston family.  We all miss you very much.

Eileen Sagman and the Bonsor Sing-a-long Group.

Dora
 
I was so sad to hear the news but I thank the Lord that you were with loved ones at the end.  Our thoughts and prayers are with Glenys and Ray at this time.
 
You were always very special to me ever since I was a kid.  You were a great example, always supportive and encouraging.  I remember you giving me some of my first advice on how to write poetry and you were of invaluable help when I set up my own poetry group. I admired you both as an artist, a friend and as a human being. I will miss you dearly.
 
I deeply regret that I won't be able to be there for the service on the 25th but I have written some thoughts down in a poem (see below), maybe in this way I can make some small contribution to this celebration of a truly wonderful and amazing life.
 
Christina and I will both be thinking of you on the day and remembering all the good times we had.
 
Yours in sadness for our loss but in gratitude for your life
 
Steve & Christina Rayton


Death of a Poet

The page, as empty as our hearts you filled with rhyme and song,
waits for a pen that will never rise to write another word
and, though so much remains unsaid when one we love is gone,
no message your life said to us has ever gone unheard:
you bore the hard times with such love - an example to us all.
The choir now is silent; they’ll be no more Clover tales
and the gardens will see you no more in summer spring or fall
yet, though your voice is still, your gentle wisdom still prevails
and this heart has grown a better heart though watered now with tears.
The things that we most need to say are always left too late,
the things of the heart that no mouth speaks, so no ear ever hears.
Though writers better than I have written of things small and great,
no matter how far the mind may search, or how deep the heart may cry,
there are no words that can suffice when a poet dies.


- Stephen Rayton 22 June 2011

Dearest Mrs. Preston:
Your love of life, curious mind and gentle heart made the world a better place to be. 
You were to us, and to many, a dear friend, neighbour and example of how to live with love and laughter every day.
God bless you, dear Dora.
Lucy, Suzanne and Sandra Puglielli

Dora
We will never stop missing you - we thank you for your happy smile and your lovely voice and all your wonderful performances at our concerts and how we laughed at lunch at Kerrisdale Senior's Centre -- as will all the other people you spent so much of your time entertaining at 411 Club and at Bonsor. We wish we could come and sing for you or better still we wish you could still be singing with us. And to your family we send our deepest sympathy - she was one of a kind and one of the best!
All your friends in Kerrisdale Senior Singers Choir

OBITUARY

Dora Preston

June 22, 1926 – June 21, 2011

Piercy's-Mt. Washington Funeral Home

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