Thursday, June 30, 2022
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Memories of Aunt Sharon
I met Aunt Sharon in 1982, when the Canadian/Australian Ramsay families gathered all together for the first time to celebrate Grandma and Grandpa (aka Fred and Mary) Ramsay’s 50th Anniversary. For 40 years, she has been a significant part of family milestone celebrations, get-togethers, events, and intercontinental trips. I have fond memories of so many occasions. Even if I was not directly part of the particular event, I saw the pictures and heard the stories which have become part of the greater narrative of all our intertwined lives.
When we visited Australia in 1983, Sharon was an avid participant in ensuring that her teenage nieces experienced Australia and had a wonderful holiday. I remember though that we had one clash in the kitchen; she had asked me to make spaghetti sauce with ingredients I was unfamiliar with and did not appeal to my picky palate. When she wasn’t looking, I doctored the sauce which turned out much more to my liking and I was surprised when she didn’t react negatively to my “rebellion”!
In the past few years, Sharon and I had some special email conversations where I learned more about her and her life before joining our motley Ramsay clan. I am so glad we had that chance to share and get to know one another better. I will always remember her as a kind and loving woman, who had a heart big enough to accommodate our extended family as her own.
I will also remember her strength and determination to bring her beloved Bob home to rest on Canadian soil, despite her own fragile health. She held family and friends to her heart until the end. Goodbye dear Sharon; you too will be Ghan but not forgotten.
Love your niece, Joanne Ramsay Smith
