SOKOLOSKI o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2003-11-17 published
Dither Joyce
DALEY
By Diane SOKOLOSKI,
Monday,
November 17, 2003 - Page A14
Wife, sister, mother, auntie, grandmother, friend. Born September
21, 1936, in St.Catharine, Jamaica. Died August 21, in Pickering,
Ontario, of colon cancer, aged 66.
Grand Central Station is the nickname of a special house that
seemed to have a hundred people whirling through at any given
time. Dither
DALEY was the matriarch of this Grand Central Station.
In 1955, during a Youth for Christ Rally in Morant Bay, Jamaica,
Dither McCALLA drew closer to gospel music that was flowing out
of some loudspeakers. Her parents always told her that when she
has the Lord to rely on, life will be so much richer. Desmond
DALEY was playing that music, and Dither got his attention that
day -- and forevermore. They were married and eventually had
seven children together (including twins).
In those days, Grand Central Station was a zinc-roofed bungalow
in Morant Bay with mischievous cows roaming the fields. Dither
raised her kids so they could be successful in school and take
their places in the world.
An Evangelical Gospel Hall in Kingston was their home away from
home, and the
DALEYs had one bench all to themselves. Every Sunday
as their micro-bus wound its way along Jamaica's twisting roads,
the singing
DALEY voices could be heard floating out toward the
Caribbean Sea.
The Grand Central Station kitchen was the place to be, with the
smells of mangoes, coconuts and ackee and saltfish in the air.
The DALEY kids remember their mother singing all the time, in
response to their demands for attention: "I'm coming, the Lord
says I'm coming..."
Dither was never one to ask for help even when she needed it.
Once she announced, "I swallowed a chicken bone." Dither worked
the bone down and went on with her chores! Even with Grand Central
Station being packed to the rafters with the
DALEYs,
Dither and
Desmond found the time and patience to help four sets of foster
children through some tough times. Dither made sure Grand Central
Station was the kind of house that could absorb lots of people
and make everyone want to stay. With the help of sponsors, the
nine DALEYs, all on the same visa, made it to Canada in 1972
in the middle of a bone-chilling winter. Once in Toronto, Dither
and Desmond worked hard inside and outside the home to provide
for their family, and during that time the kids grew up and produced
18 grandchildren. Some of the original foster children still
keep in touch and the generations gravitate to wherever Dither
and Desmond make home base.
On January 1, with sparks flying, the multicultural
DALEYs come
from far and wide to greet the new year, celebrate life and pray.
It is at these crazy feasting times that Grand Central Station
is just the way Dither liked it -- bursting at the seams with
God's love, family and Friends.
In 2002, Dither was diagnosed with colon cancer and she made
a brave attempt to fight the disease with organic food and natural
supplements, rather than breaking her body down with chemotherapy.
For more than 25 years, Dither and Desmond went to a little church
in Scarborough called Bridlegrove Bible Chapel. Precious excerpts
from Dither's journal were read at the her funeral there. Dither
treated every day as a new chance to praise God and give thanks
for the acts of kindness bestowed upon her by the people in her
life.
Diane SOKOLOSKI is a friend of Dither
DALEY.
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