Date of Death: September 1, 2012
Date of Funeral: September 2, 2012
Anshe Sholom Cemetery
ROSS, Hedy Elizabeth August 13, 1941-September 1, 2012 Hedy Elizabeth Ross was born in St. John, New Brunswick in 1941 while Uboats patrolled the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Hedy was a proud military brat, stationed from New Brunswick to the Yukon, with stops in Brockville and Hamilton, Ontario. She trained as a nurse at St. Mary’s Hospital in Kitchener, did graduate work in Montreal, and by her early twenties was an obstetrical head nurse, a vocation she cherished. In her salad days, Hedy travelled through Europe sitting side saddle on a Vespa, crossed the Atlantic in the original Queen Elizabeth (she won the first class bridge tournament on that crossing) and visited the Alhambra and Veradaro Beach while it was still possible to do so in glorious solitude. She enjoyed recounting the story of her survival on a snowy night in Guelph when the back half of the car in which she was riding was sheared off by a passenger train at a level crossing. Hedy was very proud of her deep Canadian heritage, including Mi’kmaq and Acadian blood and highland Scots ancestors who settled in Cape Breton after unsuccessfully fighting the Americans in 1776. Hedy lived for her family and her Jewish faith. She loved her Victorian house with its original art and its thousands of books. She revelled in the theatre, in a glass of single malt, and in driving her little silver Honda far too fast, but never in that order. She was a talented actor with a special flair for comedy and was active in many greater Hamilton community theatre companies until her health failed her. Despite her modest means, she was a philanthropist, financially supporting the unfortunate, the environment and the arts beyond the best of her ability. She was never afraid to express or defend her opinions. She adored British television dramas and Woody Allen films. Hedy earned the love and loyalty of many friends to whom she was faithful from their youth until the end of her life. Hedy will be remembered with joy and love by Rob (son), Tracey, Cheyne and Chase Valeriote, Julia (daughter), Gary and Cora Galowski, Jerry Bloom (fiancé), Paul, John and Jennifer Van de Kamer, and by many, many friends. She mourned her father and mother, Robert and Harriet Ross, her brother, Robert Ross, her sister, Barbara Van de Kamer, and her stepsister, Gwyneth Bevan. In her last months, Hedy received tremendous comfort, care and support from members of Temple Anshe Sholom and Beth Jacob Synagogue communities and from the staff of the Juravinski Hospital, especially Ward 4E. Hedy was laid to rest in the Temple Anshe Sholom Cemetery on September 2, 2012.