Veronica Sarah Abraham

When we remember Veronica, two powerful images emerge: the enduring strength of an immigrant's journey and the vibrant beauty of her gardens. Her life, a remarkable journey from beginning to end, was marked by love, resilience, and the nurturing spirit she inherited and cultivated.

Veronica's story began with her parents, born and raised on the small Eastern Caribbean island of Grenada. Seeking a better life during the late 1920s depression, they immigrated to Venezuela, where a coal mining boom offered hope. It was there that Veronica and her brother, Henry Sonny Renwick, were born. After saving enough to build their own home, they returned to Grenada, establishing their roots. Her father, a respected and formidable police constable, provided stability, while her mother, Ruth Cecilia, nurtured their home and cultivated flourishing gardens.

Gardening, it seems, was a legacy passed down through the women of our family. I vividly recall both my mother's and grandmother's gardens, spaces of sustenance and beauty. Granny's gardens were a reflection of her strength and resourcefulness. One, near a lively river, was a hub of community life. Another, in Union, provided a bounty of nutmeg, cocoa, and other essentials, shared generously with neighbors. Her mountain garden yielded cash crops, supplementing the family income. Granny's hands, imbued with the scents of cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, and raw cocoa, spoke of her tireless dedication. She was resilient to her core, a quiet force of nature.

Veronica, with her beautiful spirit, carried this legacy forward. As a young teacher, she shared her love of learning, leaving a lasting impact on her students. She then married and moved to Trinidad, where she transformed her new home with a vibrant flower garden. Roses, hibiscus, anthurium lilies, and bougainvillea bloomed under her care. This garden, a sanctuary, provided not only beauty but also the fragrant spices that seasoned her delicious meals, a connection to her mother's nurturing spirit.

Her garden was also her escape, her way to process homesickness, frustration, and disappointment. It taught me that gardening was healing, courage, and beauty.

In the late 1960s, a new journey began when her friend Yvonne Perez wrote of the opportunities in Toronto, Canada. My father ventured there first, and within a year, my mother, brother, and I joined him. Our first home, a small apartment on College Street, introduced us to a new world. We quickly learned about Chinese food and the warmth of immigrant community.

My parents soon purchased a home, a testament to their hard work and determination. Veronica thrived in her new life, working at the Royal Bank of Canada until her retirement. She created a beautiful home, filled with the aroma of freshly baked bread and cakes, and cultivated a garden that mirrored the beauty and resilience she carried within her. At the end of her life it was important to her that her grandchildren flourish and will be able to enjoy the fruits of her labor. My parents were able to save and leave them a legacy of homes in every country that they lived.

Through every season, my mother’s hands remained in the soil—planting, nurturing, and harvesting. Gardening was never just about growing food; it was her quiet rebellion, her act of resilience in a foreign land. Just as she coaxed life from the earth, she built a new life for us, rooted in tradition yet adapting to new soil.

And in the company of other women—immigrants like herself, their hands equally calloused from labor and loss—she found a silent, unspoken sisterhood. In gardens tucked behind homes, in shared plots overflowing with vegetables from faraway homelands, they cultivated more than crops. They cultivated strength.

Like the seeds she saved and shared, her legacy lives on—not just in the gardens she planted but in the women she inspired. And in every garden I tend, in every flower that blooms and vine that climbs, I hear her story whispering through the leaves: resilience, community, and the unwavering strength of women who dig deep and rise.

Veronica's life was a testament to the power of resilience, the beauty of nurturing, and the enduring strength of a woman who found her roots and bloomed wherever she was planted.

"Veronica was a woman of many journeys. Her life began with her parents' courageous move from Grenada to Venezuela and then back to Grenada. She then moved to Trinidad and, finally, to Toronto, Canada, which became her long-term home. Her journeys did not stop there. She deeply loved travel and explored many parts of the world. She visited the United States, Mexico, Europe, and Africa and enjoyed many cruises through the Caribbean and Europe. She embraced the world with open arms. Her loving son Damian and I feel fortunate to have called her mom or, on good days, Mammy.

A visitation for Veronica will be held Saturday, March 22, 2025 from 10:00am-11:00am at Jerrett Funeral Homes, 1141 St Clair Ave West, Toronto, ON, with a Celebration of Life service to follow at 11:00 am, at the Jerrett Funeral Home. Services will be livestreamed at: https://funeraweb.tv/en/beloved/175067?shortlink=1. A burial will occur Saturday, March 22, 2025 from 12:15 PM to 1:15 PM at Prospect Cemetery, 1450 St Clair Ave W, Toronto, ON M6E 1C6.