Tribute

GEM: Every-Mom
Geraldine Elizabeth MacEwen was born in January 1937 at Royal Alexandria Hospital in Edmonton and soon became GEM. Her first brother came along 1.5 years later, and she turned Baby Brother into Baby Buddy. So, he became Buddy.  Nick names are prevalent among her mother’s Murray relatives. Her mother, Florence Mabel Murray decided that she would call herself Geraldine or Gerry, hence GEM’s first name. Gerry even signed her marriage certificate as Geraldine, even though that was not her name. GEM’s next brother Gary arrived in 1940 but oddly got no nick name (well a few we won’t mention). They lost their mother to TB when GEM was 11. The siblings got sent to a TB Preventorium for several months, where GEM looked after her brothers. That was the start of GEM being everyone’s Mom: Every-Mom.

GEM organised her first strike against a nurse who would hit the girls with a switch as they came out of the shower. GEM convinced the girls to remain in the shower until the nurse was dismissed. They won. GEM the contracted TB when she was 15 and spent about 1.5 years in a Sanatorium near Kamloops, but not before meeting Garry Lee Maddess, who would visit her in the “San”. They married in July 1955. Happily, there was no need to change GEM’s acronym. Sadly, Garry passed away last year after 69 years of marriage.

GEM’s first child was supposed to be named David but thinking him to be her Teddy Bear he officially became Teddy Lee Maddess, a completely unique name with many double letters. Daughter Corrine Elizabeth soon became Dixie, and in true Murray female fashion refuses to be called anything else.  Teddy and Dixie’s house became the place to be for their friends and their cousins because “Your Mom is so much fun!” Thus, the Every-Mom tradition continued.  GEM soon led other Moms to organise a strike at General Gordon Elementary against an abusive principal. The tactic was to get the boys to assemble in their class fire stations at the back fence of their playground and remain there until the Principal gave up things like strapping the last boy in. They won. Later GEM became a Shop Steward at a department store she worked for, leading changes for female workers.

Teddy initially could not say grandpa, and instead dubbed GEM’s father BUMpa, which he did not appreciate, but the name stuck. Dixie’s first child was Tara Lee, who became TT. TT and her subsequent siblings and cousins were all taught by GEM to call her husband Garry, Bumpa. This was all part of GEM’s quirky and ever-present sense of humour. She was also a great debater, especially on issues of social justice, and so Dixie and Teddy were educated in the art. When the internet came along GEM embraced it, endlessly sending volleys of amusing (sometimes off-colour) emails to all and sundry. Teddy worked in an Australian research institute where he regularly passed GEM’s jokes to members of his lab. They recall “I’ll always remember the laughter that echoed around the office as you forwarded her emails to the rest of us”. Thus, Every-Mom expanded her sphere of influence.

GEM always maintained that she was Scottish, even though some of her family had been in Canada for 7 generations, making that unlikely. However, a DNA check revealed that she was indeed 85% Scottish and 15% Irish, the Scots blood being exclusively Highlander. Basically, she was a Pict, who would have loved to take on the Romans.  Sadly, a stroke meant that the emails and debates stopped. Nevertheless, we remained Teddy, Dixie and Bumpa to the end. She helped legions of people and will be fondly remembered by that host.