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Apollonia
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Obituary for Apollonia "Polly" Catherine Plant (Flegel)

Apollonia "Polly" Catherine  Plant (Flegel)
Plant, Polly (nee Apollonia Flegel)

Prairie rose, born in Regina, Saskatchewan, on April 24, 1925. Raised in Pierceland with siblings Lynnie, Fred, Jack, and Maryann, where their dad, among other things, operated a trading post and their mom was an artful Jack of many trades. Polly's early memories include sitting on the counter of the store with her Dad consulting his Cree dictionary while he traded goods with the Blackfoot Cree who cooked their bannock on the store’s pot-bellied stove. She also loved picking wild blueberries with her siblings, though a thrash and a crash in the bush often sent them dashing for fear of a bear! Inspired by the desire to cure the Hodgkins disease that claimed her dad’s life when she was 13 years old, Polly left her one-room schoolhouse and home at age 16 to board in North Battleford and complete high school at the Convent of the Child Jesus. She received a scholarship to Thomas More College at the University of Saskatchewan where she completed a Bachelor of Arts. Her aspirations for medicine eventually shifted (through the counsel of a family friend) to social work, and she completed her Bachelor of Social Work at the University of British Columbia. On returning to Saskatoon, she worked as a rural social worker, covering a beat of 300 kilometres, addressing child welfare and family adoptions among other issues. After helping her siblings get established in their respective professions and work, she moved east to do a Masters of Social Work at the University of Ottawa where she graduated summa cum laude, writing her thesis on parental relationships after a stint working for six months in New York City. She met her husband Raymond when she was living and working in Toronto and married the intellectual ex-seminarian at the Newman Centre in Toronto in 1963. Because she was the working woman and he the law student, she paid for their honeymoon to Florida! Polly gave birth in quick succession to Thomas, Greg, Monica, and Pamela, and the family settled in Brampton, Ontario, where Raymond began practising municipal law. At a time when women were increasingly entering the workforce, Polly was happily counter-cultural as a stay-at-home Mom. She was a before-it-was-fashionable enviro-girl, packing grocery-bag lunches and using milk bags for sandwiches for her kids. Polly began exploring pottery and painting to expand her self-expression; she deepened her love of art after the family moved to Hamilton, learning figure drawing and docenting at the Art Gallery of Hamilton. Like her mother before her, she considered food preparation and presentation as part of her artistic expression, and she delighted relatives and friends with food platters, dishes, and desserts that were her canvases, blending texture, colour, and bold presentation. Polly also loved jazz music; Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, and Duke Ellington complemented the classical artists of Raymond's preference. With her husband and children, she had a house that was frequently teeming with music, dinner parties, laughter, drinks, discussion, and dishes that fed people at the body and soul level. Undermount Avenue had a special collection of neighbours/friends where Polly also mastered the small gesture; neighbours often found notes on their windshield or in their mailbox on the day of difficult meetings, and jars of soup or baked goods for celebrations or for comfort. Her Christmas almond roca was legendary. As she aged, she continued to live fully -- even after Raymond's death last year. Undeterred by her Alzheimer's and her heart condition, she joined a day program through the Victorian Order of Nurses, played serious ping pong on the dining room table, and held court on the front porch where she engaged with her street in a new way, welcoming dogs, children, and well-wishers. After two strokes and two falls within a week, she was declared palliative and lived her final month at home supported by her family, the incredible residents of Undermount Avenue, St. Joseph's parish, and relatives and friends. She held our collective strength before finally, gently, gracefully letting go of hers. Visitation will be held at P.X. DERMODY FUNERAL HOME, 7 East Avenue South., Hamilton, on Friday December 2, 216, 2014 from 2-4 and 7-9 p.m. Vigil Prayers will be held at 8:30 p.m. A Funeral Mass will be held at St. Joseph Catholic Church, 260 Herkimer St.) on Saturday December 3, 2016 at 11 a.m. Cremation to follow. www.dermodys.com

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