BEEMER o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2003-04-29 published
Susan Florence
BONSTEEL
By Julia SCHNEIDER
Tuesday,
April 29, 2003 - Page A18
Librarian, mother, grandmother, friend. Born May 25, 1917, in
Simcoe, Ontario. Died February 6 in Stratford, Ontario, of cancer,
aged 85.
I first met Sue
BONSTEEL (née
BEEMER) in my hometown of Stratford
in the early 1980s. She was soon to retire as chief librarian
at the local library and she encouraged me to apply for her job.
Although I didn't get it, I did find a lifelong friend in this
remarkable woman.
Sue was a mentor before mentoring became a common concept; she
was also a role model for her times.
She exemplified how a civic-minded woman could be completely
her own person, full of Charlotte Whitton wit; how a lover of
adventure could fill the traditional role of minister's wife
and mother of four children, and how someone full of compassion
could totally eschew the sentimental. She seemed to regard her
support for the arts, charities and environment more as common
sense than duty (what would we do without them?) and her lifelong
pursuit of learning came as naturally as breathing.
Sue went back to school when her children were growing up, completing
her master's degree in library science at University of Western
Ontario before going back to work. In many ways, librarianship
with its promotion of literacy and literature, communication
and contemplation -- was an ideal job for her. Both before and
after she retired, Sue was a big draw at the library, whether
talking about a new book discovery, a new place, or a promising
author.
She was a local cultural resource, always on the intellectual
move, creating conversation wherever she set down.
After she retired, Sue really went to work, continuing her omnivorous
pursuits. She served on the Stratford City Council for a number
of years, was a founding member of the Stratford Civic Beautification
and Environmental Awareness Committee, and she also travelled
extensively.
Although I did not see her often in recent years, her welcome
was unfailing. "Where are you now?" she'd ask, and then she'd
fill me in on her recent travels and where and how her children
were. (Her husband, Richard, had died suddenly one evening while
taking out the family dog.)
One did not have to explain to Sue the lure of far-off places.
When young, she had thrilled to a posting with the World Council
of Churches in New York City, but she really took off in later
life. She travelled to China shortly after Tiananmen Square,
sailed to many parts of the world on ecological adventures and,
a blink after 9/11, set off for Egypt. "I'll have to die anyway,"
she said, "so why not on the Nile?" She also spent six months
volunteering in Nepal, and came back amused at how her silver
hair had become a hot topic of conversation for the dark-haired
Nepalese.
Sue was the mistress of her emotions. The only time I saw her
noticeably shocked was when we heard news of the death of actress
Susan WRIGHT and her visiting parents in a Stratford house fire
over Christmas in 1991.
The only time I remember her solidly disapproving of my actions
was at the theatre one evening. The man next to me had draped
his smelly stocking feet over the chair in front of me and I
had a laughing fit; not, apparently, appropriate decorum for
her guest at the theatre.
I wish Sue had been spared some of the things life sent her:
a decade ago, the macular degeneration that left her unable to
read. And then, a year ago, the cancer diagnosis that made some
of her final days a torment.
Sue once said to me that each new day lived is an affirmation
of life. That's what we have to think of now, until we can get
beyond the sadness at Sue's absence from this world that was
her vast and endlessly fascinating classroom.
Julia SCHNEIDER is a friend of Sue
BONSTEEL.
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BEER o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2003-10-06 published
LOW/LOWE/LOUGH,
Nora
Helen
(STEINBURGH)
August 3, 1946 - October 4, 2003. Died peacefully, at home, with
her loving family, after a two year battle against ovarian cancer.
She leaves her husband John and sons Andrew and Eric in Mansfield,
Ontario, her sisters Jane
BEER and Susan
BOLAN, her mother Helen
STEINBURGH and mother-in-law Georgina
LOW/LOWE/LOUGH of Toronto, sister-in-law
Kathy MONARDO and brothers-in-law Dr. Tom
BEER,
Justice
Michael
BOLAN and Richard and Peter
LOW/LOWE/LOUGH. Memorial Service Thursday, October
9 at 11 a.m. at Saint John's United Church, Alliston. Cremation.
Memorial bequests, if desired, to the U.N. Global Fund to fight
A.I.D.S. in Africa at www.unfoundation.org
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BEES o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2003-11-06 published
BEES,
Pauline
of North York, Ontario. Died November 3rd, in her 79th year.
Pauline was possessed with a joy for living and a wonderful sense
of humour. She courageously maintained this trait into her late-life
struggle and subsequent death from cancer.
She has imparted her sense of optimism onto her surviving family,
son George, daughter-in-law Chris, and grand_son Jaycen of Framingham,
Massachusetts.; daughter Barbara, son-in-law Graham
BALDWIN,
and granddaughter Katie of Toronto; son Paul and grandchildren
Anna and Jack of St. Paul, Minnesota.; and son mark of Boston,
Massachusetts.
Originally from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Pauline moved to Canada with
her husband Bob in 1958, making homes in Woodstock and Willowdale,
Ontario. Pauline considered herself to be a true Canadian, relocating
permanently from Cape Coral, Florida to Willowdale after her
husband's untimely death in 1986.
Pauline found Toronto to be the perfect place to be close to
her daughter Barbara and family. Its proximity to Woodstock gave
her access to her old and dear Friends with whom she shared many
fond and happy memories.
A natural caregiver, Pauline gave back to her community through
her volunteer work at North York General Hospital. Pauline lived
her life through, and for her children. She derived her most
pleasurable moments in time spent with immediate family and Friends.
We will remember Pauline at her finest, with her kindness, wit,
and unique perspective on the world around us, but most of all
her ability to laugh and makeus laugh every day at life's little
ironies and precious moments.
If desired in lieu of flowers, expressions of sympathy can be
made in her honour to either Bridgepoint Palliative Care or North
York General Hospital Volunteer Association.
A celebration of her life will take place on Friday, November
7th at 1: 00 pm at the R.S. Kane Funeral Home (6150 Yonge Street,
North York).
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