Biography

Eulogy for Mary Cecilia Ralphs Saturday, June 7, 2008 Mary was the daughter of a Master Pastry Chef and a young German woman fresh from finishing school in Switzerland whose family were clockmakers. Together her parents established a business in London England operating a bake shop. Many of Mary’s early stories focus on the triumphs and trials of operating a family business. As a young woman, Mary chose to pursue a career as an aesthetician. She both began and ended her career in this area. Her first job was at Grosvenor Square (very posh) and her last paid job was in a beauty salon in Mississauga as receptionist—a job she thoroughly enjoyed. Mary’s early career was cut short by the Second World War. During the war years she chose to be an auxiliary nurse. The stories of her adventures on the ambulance trains taught us that war was indiscriminate in its casualties. She recounted that the British soldiers and the German wounded were alike as they clung to photos of loved ones and longed to be home. Mary Ralphs was the kind of mother that provided all the necessary ingredients for a rich life to a troupe of children. She sewed costumes and drove children to lessons. She even thoughtfully provided a boy child to play the part of Jesus at the school Christmas Pageant one year. Seeing how much the girls enjoyed mothering their new brother, she gave them a second one. Mary embraced the role of grandmother with graceful benevolence. As her children produced babies of their own she graciously offered discrete advice and recognition. She is remembered by the young adults of this generation as being dutiful in acknowledging each birthday with a cheerful greeting card. In fact, Mary was so conscientious about her birthday duties that even in her last days in hospital she insisted that one final card be sent to remember a son-in-law’s birthday. Mary was a very good friend and always had a large network of women eager to share her company. Many of these friends were expatriate British women and she seemed to always be able to find a connection with those from her native Britain. She did once confess to a friend that she had found immigrating to Canada extremely difficult and had not been ready for the many cultural differences between Britain and Canada. She never lost her love of afternoon tea. Mary loved to travel. Even as a widow, she would plan and carry out exciting overseas trips to look up lost relatives in Germany or visit close friends in England. Mary will be remembered by many and that memory will be cherished. Her gifts of imagination, grace, enthusiasm, organization and sense of adventure live on in her sons and daughters, her grandchildren and great grandchildren. She hasn’t gone too far from us--she lives on in our hearts and our lives.