C7

MARY-ELLEN SAUNDERS
TELEGRAPH-JOURNAL

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ST. STEPHEN - Having loved seven children, a foster daughter, and any child that graced her doorstep, Susan Gillmor was known as a woman with the patience and temperament of a saint.

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Susan Gillmor

"She was a mom to everybody around her - it didn't matter if it was her child or not," said her daughter, Monica Gillmor. "She was a community mom - she invited everyone into the house. You could always smell bread baking. She was always smiling and she never complained about anything."

Surrounded by her family, Gillmor died after a three-and-a-half year battle with cancer. She was 61.

Allan Gillmor, a two-time mayor of St. Stephen, said he will miss his wife every single day.

"She (had) been fighting cancer for three and a half years. She won many battles but she lost the war. She is at peace," he said. "She was strong in her faith. We had talked about death and she said, 'I have no fear.' "

Gillmor and his wife were both teachers at St. Stephen High School. They first met at the Fairmont Algonquin hotel. Romance blossomed, and they later married. The couple was blessed with seven children: Gillian, Gregory, Anna, Mark, Monica, Christina, Charlotte, and a foster daughter, Margie Snell.

Her husband remembers his wife as a calming influence in the family. "She was calm and collected - she always kept her cool," said Allan Gillmor. "She was supportive of me all the years I was on council."

The former mayor said his wife always had everything under control. She always knew where her seven children were and what they were doing. He said there is a black board posted in the bathroom that listed each child and where they were.

"It's still there, even though there is nothing on it, and it will (continue to) be there," he said.

Monica Gillmor delivered her mother's eulogy at the funeral last Thursday. She said her mother was always wearing an apron and her feet were always bare. She was constantly doing things around the house, whether it was hanging clothes on the line or kneading bread. But no matter how busy she was, or how many children she had to feed and care for, Monica said her mom always made time to run around the bases in the backyard and play games with her youngsters.

"She cared for all of us. She lived a great life, surely not long enough, but still a great life. We can only hope to be as respected, as well-liked and appreciated as she was, (with) her generous ways, her strong heart, her welcoming and spiritual nature."

Monica said all her mother had to do was point her finger and give a stern look to keep the children in line. She said her family rarely fought, and every child knew exactly what chores they had to do, and did them, without being prompted.

"We all had our own personalities and she welcomed that. She never tried to get us to be the same person and do the same things."

Lorna Haley said she met Susan Gillmor through the IODE, a women's group. Haley said her friend was a lady, in the true sense of the word. She said if you asked Susan to do something, you knew it would get done. Haley said when she was with Susan, she knew she would be listened to, that nothing she said would be repeated and that she would get good motherly advice.

"She must have had the patience of Job," said Haley. "I don't know how she raised seven children. And all of her children turned out well. They are lovely, compassionate children - so she must have done something right."