Post by ppat324 on Nov 10, 2010 6:12:12 GMT -5
11/10 - St. Catharines, Ont. - Ethel Williamson, an irrepressible family matriarch with a yen for story-telling, has died at age 103.
Williamson led a rich life as a former lighthouse keeper in Port Weller, Ont. She was also an accomplished writer and devoted amateur radio operator. She passed away at Niagara Ina Grafton Gage Village after a decline following complications from a stroke.
"She had an absolutely indomitable spirit," said her grandson, St. Catharines city Councillor Bruce Williamson. "She was a perfect grandmother for us, she was very inspiring," he said. "You'd go for a visit with her and get this dose of her positive energy. You always felt better after you spoke to her than when you went in."
Williamson was born in England and immigrated to St. Catharines with her family in 1911. She married her husband Cyril in the late 1920s. The couple lived at the lighthouse for 25 years. There, Williamson learned Morse code and earned her radio operator's license -- one of the first women in Canada to do so. She had also been a published author of short stories and articles and penned books that include “A Light on the Seaway,” published in 1972, about her family's life at the Port Weller lighthouse.
In July 2005, she christened the new Canadian Coast Guard vessel Cape Storm at the Port Weller Coast Guard Station -- the site of her family's old lighthouse.
St. Catharines Standard
Williamson led a rich life as a former lighthouse keeper in Port Weller, Ont. She was also an accomplished writer and devoted amateur radio operator. She passed away at Niagara Ina Grafton Gage Village after a decline following complications from a stroke.
"She had an absolutely indomitable spirit," said her grandson, St. Catharines city Councillor Bruce Williamson. "She was a perfect grandmother for us, she was very inspiring," he said. "You'd go for a visit with her and get this dose of her positive energy. You always felt better after you spoke to her than when you went in."
Williamson was born in England and immigrated to St. Catharines with her family in 1911. She married her husband Cyril in the late 1920s. The couple lived at the lighthouse for 25 years. There, Williamson learned Morse code and earned her radio operator's license -- one of the first women in Canada to do so. She had also been a published author of short stories and articles and penned books that include “A Light on the Seaway,” published in 1972, about her family's life at the Port Weller lighthouse.
In July 2005, she christened the new Canadian Coast Guard vessel Cape Storm at the Port Weller Coast Guard Station -- the site of her family's old lighthouse.
St. Catharines Standard