AMALIA, LAUREL (FORMERLY SCHWARTZ) (nee APPLEMAN) May 10, 1939 – June 4, 2021 Laurel Amalia was diagnosed with stage 4, small cell lung cancer on February 4, 2021.
She received palliative care at home and died on Friday, June 4, 2021 after a short stay in palliative care at Sunnybrook Hospital. In keeping with her need to control all aspects of her life (and death), she has written her own obituary – Tobey and Andrew Schwartz I was born in a car in Hammond, Indiana, on May 10, 1939, the fourth girl in a row to a catastrophically dysfunctional family of five children (thanks to Dr. Howard Eisenberg for helping me learn that there is a lot more to life than being depressed all the time).
Earned a BSc in agriculture (economics), 1961 (The Ohio State University) and an MSc in journalism, 1965 (University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana). Met and married a Canuck in 1962 (freed at last in 1986). Moved to Toronto in 1965. Chose to become a Canadian citizen in 1971 and lost my US citizenship by doing so. Mother of two extremely bright children whom I adored, Andrew E. Schwartz (of Minneapolis) and Tobey D. Schwartz (married to the lovely Paul, both of Toronto). Worked as a substantive editor at the University of Illinois (Champaign-Urbana) College of Agriculture Publications Office from 1961 until 1965, where I was trained to do high-quality editorial work and won a blue ribbon of excellence for one of the publications I worked on. Continued working as an editor of agricultural economics publications for the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food on a freelance basis from 1965 until 1977, when I accepted a position to teach business and technical communication at Ryerson.
Although I was told that I was an accomplished teacher, I came to the conclusion that being a teacher was an exercise in masochism and that I would go mad if I had to mark 150 assignments every school week for the rest of my working life. In 1979, at the age of 40, I became the managing editor of the publications department of the Canadian Tax Foundation, and was allowed by all but one of the Foundation’s directors to establish and carry on an editorial program that produced tax and public finance publications of the highest quality. I was awarded a Queen’s Diamond Jubilee medal in 2012 in recognition of my work at the Foundation, which left me gob smacked at the honour, but also extremely proud and gratified. I thank all those I worked with who helped me make the editorial program a success (particularly the late Doug Sherbaniuk, Tom McDonnell, Robin MacKnight, Larry Chapman, Brian Arnold, Carol Hargreaves, Neil Brooks, Scott Wilkie, Vivien Morgan, Leesa Armstrong (also a good friend), Kathy Johnson, Michel Gaughan, Paula Pike (also a good friend), Jim Lyons (also a good friend), Christine Purden, Frances Emery (also a good friend), Lenore d’Anjou, and Diane Gula). I retired from CTF in 2006 and worked for the Foundation as a freelance editor until 2015. A huge thank you to Ken Armstrong for his friendship and his devotion in helping me keep my finances and income tax returns in good order; Alan Emery for being a good friend; and Adele Wootton for being a really good print representative and a wonderful friend.
To my pal Luci Thoburn, thanks for your many trips to Costco on my behalf and for joining me for tea and interesting conversation. It was my good fortune to count you as a friend. Thank you to Andrea Lugowski and Marc Aeberhardt for their osteopathic healing and friendship. I love you both. And to their son, Leif Aeberhardt: Go Leif, go! Keep on reading! A word to my nephew Scott and his husband Jimmy: Thank you for your love and friendship. It meant the world to me that, despite all the family gossip, you took the time to get to know me for who I was. I love you forever. A lover of animals, I was a keeper of and servant to cats, particularly the beloved Smokey Joe and Mimi. Avid reader of The Toronto Star since 1965; however, I never could stomach the Star’s egregious use of “however” as a conjunction, and I gave up trying to teach some of its writers the difference between “foregone” and “forgone.” I was also a great reader of books and loved my children for the twice yearly, very generous gift cards to the book store. What a perfect gift for a bibliophile! I passed on all the books I bought and read to Tobey, and assumed she read most if not all of them. It blew me away to think that she read 60 to 70 books a year that I picked off the bookstore shelf! In return, she loaned me the occasional really interesting and well-written nonfiction book. And we had lovely discussions about the books we’d read and every other topic under the sun. What a good-hearted, wonderful, bright, and talented woman my daughter is!
With her husband Paul, Tobey lived in the same condominium that I did, on the same floor, just two doors away. She baked wonderful treats for me every week, and assumed the back-breaking responsibility for preparing holiday dinners when the work got beyond me. She and Paul helped me with so many of life’s chores as I got older, for which I was very grateful. Though Andrew (Andy) lived in Minneapolis, he was always concerned about my well-being. He seemed to know everything about everything, which he often shared with me, sometimes to my enlightenment and sometimes to my puzzlement. Puzzlement was not acceptable, so he’d explain and explain again until I got it (sort of). He looked after all my computer needs remotely from Minneapolis and updated my equipment (including a new computer periodically) as needed. I was very grateful. He is warm and wonderfully funny, a side of him I loved. You’re a good man, Andy Schwartz.
I joined the YMCA (Sheppard and Bayview) in 1983 to bring some balance to my intellectual life (thanks again to Dr. Eisenberg) and swam in the main pool, starting at age 43 with 6 lengths (150 metres) in 30 minutes (a bit out of shape, I’d say) three times a week, peaking at 60 lengths (1500 metres) in 60 minutes five times a week after I retired until age 76, and slowing down to 50-54 lengths in 60 minutes five times a week by age 80 (when I’m writing this). Thanks to the 5 a.m. lifeguards – especially Gloria, Neil, Mike, Sean, and Wendy – for showing up at that ungodly hour to keep the swimmers safe. The conversations in the women’s shower and change room at the “Y” were stimulating and heartwarming, driven no doubt by the endorphins generated by our workouts (I hated the effort of swimming, but loved how I felt afterward). I made a lifetime of friends at the “Y” and loved them all: Gilda, Leslie, LiXia, Barb, Luci, Carly, Margaret, Niki, Mavis, Lawrence, Slavica, Laura, and Mareie. It was always my opinion that some of the best and brightest people worked out as an important part of their lives. – Laurel Amalia – February 10, 2021 – Due to COVID-19 restrictions, a Celebration of Life will not be held until the pandemic is over and large gatherings are allowed.
Please go to her memorial page at https://morleybedford.wordpress.com/2021/06/07/laurel-amalia/ and leave us your email address so we can let you know when and where her memorial will take place. In lieu of flowers, donations in her name can be made to the Stephen Lewis Foundation. https://stephenlewisfoundation.org/
