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Obituary of OLIVE GORY
OLIVE GORY (nee Rybak)
Because the family often joked about death--after
all, it's going to take us all--Mom's passing on January 15, 2012
at the age of 92 feels as if she is just playing the part--except she's not around to comment on how it went. "Be a toughie, Mom," she was urged in her closing months but she shot
back in her cute earnest way: "I don't want to be a toughie." And that was
that. She slipped away peacefully Sunday and her ashes, as per her wishes,
will be scattered in a blueberry patch in the wild this summer, evoking the
memory of her waking up a bear once while picking berries but fearlessly
continuing to pick as the bear ambled into the bush.
Mom had a public persona: she was the "tomato woman" featured in TV ads in
the 1990's demonstrating how a water-filled frost cover called a Kozy-Coat
could help gardeners pick ripe tomatoes before their neighbours. Producing
the product was a family business. "Perfect" is a very big word but Mom's
life was about as perfect and exemplary as they come. She lived every moment
with tireless gusto, never complaining about anything, with a smile that lit
up a room, always looking fabulous--right to the end. Everybody loved her.
An award-winning gardener, an amazing cook, a skillful golfer, curler,
pottery-maker, bowler, violinist, confidante. Missed most will be asking her
opinions on stuff--she always gave the straight goods. She lived for her
family but she made sure she took care of herself, too. She had no momentous
words about life and the aging process: what she missed most at 90, she had
confided, was that Dad at 91 wasn't cutting the mustard as often anymore.
That was Mom. Family get-togethers usually degenerated into uncontrollable
bouts of laughter, usually while playing penny poker, with Mom having to
flee to the biffy. Her kids, Brian and Pat and close family companion Alta
are among many who will cherish her memory. She was predeceased by husband
Nick, "the Investors man," who died in March and son Garth. She has a
grandchild, too--Candice Lee.
To celebrate her life, get flowers for yourself--not, please, for family
members--and live well. She would want that. Olive loved begonias,
especially the giant-flowered tuberous ones.
A Memorial Tree was planted for OLIVE
We are deeply sorry for your loss ~ the staff at Cropo Funeral Home
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