OXFORD o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2007-07-18 published
OXFORD,
Kay
Frances
Clare (née
DAVIDOVICH)
Mother, wife, teacher, college administrator, best friend to
many. Born April 12, 1945, in London, England. Died February 8
of cancer in Toronto, aged 61.
By Dianne LOCOCO, Lynne
KURYLO and Hilde
ZIMMER and Earle
OXFORD,
Page L6
'I'm the luckiest person in the world." Days after being told
that her cancer was inoperable, Kay, on impulse, took off to
London for a long weekend. She was the Energizer Bunny, on the
hop the whole time.
Kay's affinity for England was engendered by her English mother,
Phyllis NASH.
Kay's tenacity was engendered by her father, Stephen
DAVIDOVICH.
Stephen was a Canadian army officer in wartime London,
where he met and married Phyllis.
"A wisp of air in a breeze," was how her father described Kay.
She flitted from one social engagement to another, gracing hundreds
of Friends with warmth, mirth and gifts of the Bruce Peninsula
pottery she so loved.
How Kay shoehorned daily coffees, lunches, dinners with Friends
and chats with shop clerks, bus drivers and students into her
rigorous schedule as an administrator at George Brown College
is a study in time management. She worked tirelessly for more
than 40 years to facilitate access to education for new Canadians.
Kay's many years of volunteer work reflect her varied interests.
A long-time student of Canadian history and heritage, she was
a member of and volunteer at the Enoch Turner Schoolhouse museum.
Patients in the palliative care unit at Saint Michael's Hospital
loved Kay's natural warmth and caring. Her spirit will live on
in the lively annual neighbourhood parties that she instigated.
Kay was a saint with a broad swath of wicked humour painted up
her steel spine. After her first operation, in 2003, I called
her husband, Earle, who said, "Kay's fine." He meant that he
hoped Kay would be okay, so I thought Kay was fine and sent flowers
with a cocky note: "Start eating. Get off the Calista Flockhart
I.V. diet." Kay telephoned. "You don't know they removed 2/3
of my stomach, do you?" I didn't. "I have cancer." I didn't know
that either. "The nurses are upset with you." Kay thought it
was hilarious. For the next 3½ years, she would tease me about
my faux pas and delight in my squirming.
The last time I saw Kay, her health was fading quickly. She was
weak and couldn't talk for long. But she spoke of her unbridled
love for and pride in her son, John Daniel. She spoke of how
wonderfully caring Earle was and the "lovely" talks they were
sharing. She whispered, "I'm the luckiest person in the world."
The day before Valentine's Day, St. Philip's Anglican Church
was packed. It was a testament not to Kay's luck, but to her
heart.
Kay's friend Dianne
LOCOCO wrote this with help from Lynne
KURYLO,
Hilde ZIMMER and Earle
OXFORD.
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