Ode to my (Canadian) Grandma

The Akan people of Ghana use the sankofa symbol to express a philosophy central to their lives and to ours: "We must retrieve our past In order to move forward."

Mary Evelyn Beam passed away at the age of 93 in the wee hours of Christmas Day 2006. She died in peace of heart failure at the Orangeville Hospital. She lived a full life; leaving her memory behind with 5 children, 15 grandchildren, 19 (I think) great-grandchildren and many other loved ones.

I will remember her amazing memory for people she knew. It seemed as though she had a filing cabinet in her head full of people’s stories and how they’re all related to each other. She always did her best to keep everyone happy. Managing a family with as much variety as mine (her children are a farmer, high-powered business woman, Jehovah Witness, minister, pagan lesbian) couldn’t have been easy. She did her best to keep us all up-to-date.

I have many fond memories of staying with her and Grandpa in their house in Grand Valley, ON. There was always a tin full of red & white mints, a basement full of memories to root through, a Shreddies and Ginger Ale float before bed, a pitiful pine tree at Christmas time and lots of quilts.

About five years ago she decided to carry a cabinet to the basement and took a spill (no one could ever call her undetermined). Since then she’s been living at the Lord Dufferin Centre in Orangeville. She made many friends, even with her poor hearing and eyesight. Her room had a steady rotation of visitors. From the beginning she was determined to keep her figure. She didn’t want to lose her Bathing Beauty title from a bus tour a few years earlier.

Grandma always said that life begins at 60. The 24 years I had the pleasure of witnessing were very well-lived. I can only hope that I am as fortunate as she.