Maureen Dolores Adams

ADAMS, Maureen Dolores (nee Diaz) - March 25, 1924 - March 19, 2011 In her 87th year, Maureen Adams passed away peacefully after a long struggle with congestive heart failure. She died at Trillium Health Centre with her daughter and son-in-law at her side. Maureen was the loving wife of 53 years to John (deceased) and mother to John Andrew (Ruth Ann) of Dartmouth NS, Christopher Charles of Mississauga and Dolores Peckham (Dwayne) of Brampton. Son Richard Rayson predeceased her in 1997. She was the loving grandmother of Ruthmarie (Halifax, NS), Christopher (Halifax, NS), Andrea (Dartmouth, NS), Hannah (Halifax, NS) and Susanna (Dartmouth, NS). She was the daughter of the late Andrew Diaz of Spain, and Kathleen Harris of Ireland. Maureen, an only child, was born in Toronto, Ontario. In 1949, Maureen graduated from the University of Toronto with a B.A. and in 1950, from the Faculty of Library Science (U of T) with a BLS. She met her husband, John Adams, during library school and they married in 1952. Maureen worked as a children's librarian in public libraries at Niagara Falls and Welland, ON, Saskatoon, SK, and Leeds, England, before settling in Brampton, ON, where she worked for the Peel Board of Education as a teacher-librarian in Ridgeview, McHugh, and Agnes Taylor public schools. Maureen's hobby was puppetry. She was the co-founder, with husband John, of the family puppetry theatre, The Adams Marionettes. The whole family was involved with performances in libraries and schools in Southern Ontario. When Maureen and John retired, they travelled to many puppetry festivals in Canada and the USA. Maureen taught and held workshops on puppets in the communities of Brampton and Toronto and also as an extra-curricular activity in the schools where she worked. In 2006, she received the Arts Person of the Year award for her outstanding contribution to the arts in her community. During her retirement, she was very involved in a variety of organizations: Retired Teachers Association, CFUW (Canadian Federation of University Women), OPA (Ontario Puppetry Association), the Brampton Arts Council and the Schizophrenia Society (Walk of Hope). The family would appreciate donations in Maureen's memory to the Heart & Stroke Foundation. A celebration of Maureen's life will be held at the Unitarian Church of South Peel on Saturday, April 16, 2011, at 1 p.m. (84 South Service Road, Mississauga). Messages of Condolences may be placed at www.RidleyFuneralHome.com