Born Dec 4, 1926. Passed Nov 23rd, 2021
Born in London, England and raised in Ealing, Pam emigrated to Canada in 1946 with her parents. She went to the Montreal School Of Fine Arts in 1948 and in 1952 taught art at King’s College in Compton, QC and in 1953 at the Montreal Museum of Art under the tutelage of Arthur Lismer.
Pam married John Piper in 1954 and proceeded to have four children, Colin (b 1955), Derek (b 1957), Rosalind (b 1961) and Tim (b 1964).
Pam raised her family in Pointe Claire, QC and in Burritt’s Rapids, ON. She also lived in Merrickville, ON and Peterborough, ON. In all of the communities Pam lived in she was an active part of the local artist’s community and took various classes in art, yoga and dance. She taught art to adults in a variety of places including St. Lawrence College in Brockville, ON in the early 1980s.
Our mother was a generous, warm and artistic soul who was a true “outside-the-box” thinker and she lived her life with strong conviction with respect to health and education. Above all, Pam was curious about people and as a great listener, she retained precise information about people she had only met on one or two occasions. She rarely thought of herself in terms of her age and gravitated towards younger people or vibrant, creative folks in general.
Pam loved the people that her kids ended up with. Ruth (Derek), Rene (Roz) and Pauline (Tim), all recognized what a special person Pam was. And Pam’s Grandkids, Sarah, Cassia, Jonathan, Maggie, Jack and Ben were all big fans too as were their respective partners, Demis, Aaron, Molly and Matheus. Pam had a very special relationship with each of every one of you.
In her last months, Pam got to meet her great-grand child Mackand he was a great a sense of joy for her.
In her last years, Pam could be seen often in the downtown Peterborough in the local shops striking up conversations with whomever she came across, always encouraging people to engage. She almost always lost track of time when going about her activities, often surprised or even offended when the hustle and bustle of other people’s worlds met her own unique sense of timing.
Time did catch up with Pam as it does all of us. But Pam’s time here with us was a gift to us that none of us took for granted because Pam always reminded us, by her example, that we can dance to the beat of any damn drummer we want.
Love you Pam