Remembering Maureen
By Jackie Manthorne
Maureen died on May 17, 2012 after a valiant battle with
pulmonary fibrosis. She was the loving mother of Natalie and her husband Brent
Pilon, and Steve Kelly. She was the very proud and doting grandmother of Chloe
Pilon and Mark and Ashley Dempsey. She was the beloved sister of Patricia
McPoland and John McPoland, and was predeceased by her brother Peter and her
sister Jacqueline.
Maureen and I worked together at a national cancer
charity for ten years. Although I was her boss, over time we became friends.
This doesn’t happen often, but Maureen was special. She cared about her work,
the people she worked with, and especially the people she worked for – people just
diagnosed or living with cancer.
When I look back, I think of Maureen as the “face” of
that charity. She was the first person you saw when you came in the door, and
she always greeted everyone with a smile and a good morning, and asked how you
were doing. Her cheerfulness soothed the nerves of students just starting on
their placement, welcomed the many volunteers, and gave consistency to the day
for the people who worked there.
She was also the cheerful, welcoming “voice” that callers
first heard, whether they were calling for information about a cancer group in
their city or town or whether they had just been diagnosed and were afraid and
upset. When that happened, Maureen would
put everything else aside and spend as long as needed listening and calming and
reassuring them that someone cared, that someone was with them and that they
could call back anytime. Many did.
Not that she was perfect: she had a liking for corny
internet jokes and cartoons, more than a few of which she circulated to
friends. She had a big aversion to filling out government forms which resulted
in a bit of bother with the Canada Revenue Agency and I don’t know to this day
if she ever did get her Old Age Security.
And I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the many men
she made friends with: the postman, the postage meter repairman, the photocopy
repairman, the phone system repairman, the fellows who fixed our cranky server,
and so on. She was always pleasant and always patient with them even when
equipment broke down often, so they always showed up promptly when she called
Most of all, Maureen cared about and was proud of her
family, especially her grandchildren, and she told me more than once how
wonderful it was to be living these past years with her daughter Natalie,
son-in-law Brent and granddaughter Chloe.
She was a loving mother, grandmother, sister and mother-in-law through
good times and bad.
Maureen was also a true friend to many, and we will miss
her sunny personality and caring presence in all our lives.
At her memorial service last evening, a group of us who
had worked with Maureen slowly congregated at one table. We drank coffee and
ate sweets and caught up with each other’s lives and mostly we reminisced, with
many a laugh and quiet moments filled with memories. It was the kind of coffee klatch
Maureen would have loved.
God bless you, Maureen – may our prayers follow you to
heaven.
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