Oh Mother of Mine

Remembering Lollie

When Earl Dickie served with the Winnipeg Grenadiers during the Second World War, when he fought in the Battle of Hong Kong and was defeated and taken prisoner, and during his years as a prisoner of war under brutal conditions, he often thought of his mother. And she often thought of him, with faith that he would survive and come home to her.

When Sarah, the widowed mother of the Dickies From Gunton: Canadian Brothers in Two World Wars, passed away, her 40-something-year-old boys became the old-timers, the elders in the family. And then, they would pass and leave that honour to the children.

Of the children, Percy’s youngest daughter, Lollie has now passed away in her 90th year, leaving her own children as the old-timers of the family.

It is a strange yet natural thing to find yourself the elder of the family, as you say goodbye to your last living parent. In a world where many adult children continue to live with their parents and come home to their love and support as they navigate the many bumps in life, there comes a time when you truly can’t go home again.

And yet, the love and memories of mother will always live in our hearts, as we move forward on our own as the people they have helped us to become.

Percy’s little girl remembered the love and the support of her mother, and, in turn, her own children will remember her love and support.

It’s a journey we will all take, if we are fortunate to live long enough. And along the way, we will always remember the unconditional love of our mother. Forever.

As Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936) wrote, in his poem Mother o’ Mine:

If I were hanged on the highest hill,
Mother o’ mine, O mother o’ mine!
I know whose love would follow me still,
Mother o’ mine, O mother o’ mine!

If I were drowned in the deepest sea,
Mother o’ mine, O mother o’ mine!
I know whose tears would come down to me,
Mother o’ mine, O mother o’ mine!

If I were damned of body and soul,
I know whose prayers would make me whole,
Mother o’ mine, O mother o’ mine!

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