27 Feb Obituary – Elizabeth Veronica Ardagh 1920-2018
Elizabeth Veronica Ardagh was born May 17, 1920 she live almost one hundred years in one of most accelerated times of development in human history.
She was born to William Johnson, a father who was a Gentleman farmer in Cornwall, England. In life, Veronica was fond of her brother Michael and loved her sister Patricia. She grew up very close to her mother Winifred Ardagh, who was an Anthroposophist. It seems that it was her mother’s influence that helped her make Anthroposophy her lifelong spiritual path, her source for life’s meaning. A friend of Veronica remarked that perhaps it was Anthroposophy that helped her cross the threshold in such a peaceful, grace-filled way. And if any of you had a chance to see her body during the vigil, it was remarkable how this peace and light filled her countenance. Her life forces, her childlikeness and joy were still present in her lifeless body.
And this is a also testament to another great joy in her life, Eurythmy, a modern art that seeks to make speech and music visible through movement. And Eurythmy also works to enliven the physical body, giving it life and vibrancy. And this we could even see in her death. Veronica was trained in Eurythmy in the late 30’s in Dornach Switzerland. And it is also remarkable to mention that her teacher was Marie Steiner herself.
Veronica had many dear friends, including Dorothy Haller. But it seems that one of Veronica’s most precious gifts in her life was her friendship with her dear Thora Hawkes. They spent so much time together. My colleague Rev. Susan Locey remembers that ‘Veronica was very faithful to Thora, visiting her daily in the care home and rubbing Weleda arnica cream on her back. Thora had worked as a public health nurse and Veronica liked to listen to her stories of helping poor families, especially new immigrants.
Veronica was very sunny and light-hearted, but she never forgot kindness or her sometimes critical impressions of people. Her greatest joy was the sea and traveling, her favourite place to go was Thailand. She even went there at quite an advanced age. And it was in Thailand that she found and generously supported a foster child for many years. She also supported 6 other foster children for over 30 year. Veronica was very generous. She always gave when she could. She was stoic, hardly ever complaining. Her dear caretaker for many years at the end of her life, Elizabeth and the Martinez family said to me though that she DID complain when it came time to take a shower. Veronica disliked showers. She liked best to wash in the sea, she loved to float in the sea. She loved to float. Perhaps in the end this why she became a Eurythmist, so she could float through life.
Another colleague, Rev. Peter Skaller and his wife Phyllis remember her well. Peter said to me “ She was an Eccentric”….an Ur-eccentric, British-style. The way she dressed and walked, full regalia with eurythmist’s scarves, but never pretentious, just innocently enjoying the colours.
She made her scarves, tie-dying them in outrageous colours and designs. In her apartment they’d be laying all over the place.
Her dear friend Thora…they were inseparable, but Thora didn’t come to church. Didn’t matter. Veronica was always there, always sitting on the right side, midway to the back.
Veronica had a lovely giggle and could flash a mischievous twinkle with her eyes. Though she could appear a bit like the innocent “fool,” she was far from a fool, and that twinkle-flash let you know she was there.
As her body weakened she’d appear less and less frequently in church. She moved into a big apartment downtown with Thora. She began to show tremors and her voice quavered. Once, when Phyllis and I went down to her apartment during a later visit to Toronto, she came out into the foyer in her pajamas; she began to struggle with short term memory loss and dementia.
Veronica was one of those people who in an unassuming way, so that you’d hardly notice it, harbours a huge, highly evolved humanity, like a sage. There was something Buddhist about her, which perhaps explains her affinity to Thailand.
I never heard a negative word from anyone about her.
But here’s the main thing you need to know. When Phyllis and I moved to Toronto in 1987, Phyllis was soon diagnosed with breast cancer. Veronica, who hardly knew us, immediately gave Phyllis $10,000 to be used for alternative cancer therapies. She hadn’t been asked; she just did it on her own. No strings attached. What kind of person does such a thing?
I have no facts about her finances, or where her money came from. She lived very simply. But her generosity was huge. This freedom to give money to help others…that was her signature, her unique inner gesture.’
And perhaps this signature of generosity in Veronica’s life also fulfills her namesake. For the name Veronica comes from the legend of the maiden who generously handed The Christ a handkerchief on his way to Calvary. The Christ’s countenance then appeared the cloth.
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