|
|
-
| Title |
Death notice - Eleanor Audrey "Babs" McLaren |
| Short Title |
Death notice - Eleanor Audrey "Babs" McLaren |
| Publisher |
The Globe and Mail, 19 July 2014. |
| Source ID |
S586 |
| Text |
Eleanor Audrey (Babs) McLaren
31 October 1916-16 July 2014
Film maker, photographer,
gardener, adopted grandmother;
lover of classic movies, animals,
a good bottle of red wine and all
things chocolate.
Born in Hythe Kent England,
Babs returned to Canada on a
troop ship with her mother,
Reitta (Moore) after her father,
Richard J. McLaren, who served
with the 1st West York
Regiment, was killed in action in
1918. It was the first of many
transatlantic voyages and fuelled
a taste for travel and adventure
that took her around the world,
from a bicycle trip in Brittany in
1938 to a 4 1/2 month motor
trip through the Middle East in
1968 with beloved friend Alma
Duncan (1917 - 2004).
Babs was schooled in Hamilton,
Switzerland and Florence, Italy
She enlisted in the RCAF and was
posted to the Western Air
Command in Victoria, B. C. where
she obtained her commission in
1943. Three years later she took
a job at the National Film Board,
where she met Alma Duncan
Together they formed Dunclaren
Productions and their stop
animation films, peopled with
handmade puppets, garnered
international recognition. Babs
and Alma shared homes in
Arnprior, Cumberland and
Ottawa, Ontario where they
loved to entertain, always in the
company of beloved family
dogs. The tradition of
entertaining was important to
Babs, whether it was brunch at
Claire de Lune, or pizza dinners
in her suite at the Rockcliffe
while watching one of the
hundreds of movies that she and
Alma had collected. Always
quiet, proper and fiercely
independent to the end, Babs
loved a good story, visits with
friends young, old (and furry),
and of course cocktail hour at
the Rockcliffe Retirement
Residence. Her loving adopted
family Anne Maheux, Greg and
Madeleine Hill (and Alice) will
miss her crinkly smile, her
pleasure in eating asparagus
with her fingers, and in sharing a
good bottle of red wine. Babs is
survived by loving cousins Patsy
Bosomworth, Bob (Helke) Ferrie,
Duncan McLaren and Bill
(Daphne) McLaren. Friends are
invited to visit at the Central
Chapel of Hulse, Playfair &
McGarry, 315 McLeod Street (at
O'Connor), Ottawa on
Wednesday, July 30, 2014 from
2:00 p.m. until the time of
Service in the Chapel at 3:00
p.m. If friends so desire,
donations may be made to the
Ottawa Humane Society in Babs'
memory. |
| Linked to (1) |
Eleanor Audrey "Babs" McLaren |
|
|
