1935-2013
Mora died the morning of May 7th, 2013 in the Palliative Care Unit of the Eastern Health District, Government of Newfoundland and Labrador. Mora was beset by a series of health issues over several years with which she contended with courage and good sense. The care she was given by the staff of the Palliative Care Unit was beyond compare. Born in Sydney, Nova Scotia, and growing up in Sydney Mines, Mora was always a proud Cape Bretoner. Her father was Donald Ross, her mother Margaret MacPherson. She died while Mora was a baby leaving her and two sisters, Margaret and Jean. Donald's second wife, Anna O'Brien, was as a mother to the three girls. Donald and Anna had three boys. Mora was predeceased by Margaret (Duvalle) and is survived by Jean (Duplisea), Halifax, her brothers, John Hugh Ross (Sheila), Halifax, Peter Ross (Mary-Jane), North Sydney and Norman Ross in Sydney Mines. She leaves her husband, Robert (Bob), St. John's; daughters: Katherine and her husband, Bill Nesbitt, Hamilton, and Mary and her husband Steven Foreman Pamona/Claremont, California and grandson, Myles Robert Foreman, just born in February 2013. It is impossible for them to imagine Mora not being present in their lives. Possessed of a formidable intellect, Mora had an innate ability to cut to the heart of the matter. Neither fad nor frippery obtained in her court. Mora was a Beaverbrook Scholar and studied at the University of London. She earned her M.A. and BEd. at Mount Allison University, Sackville, N.B. Mora was a born teacher. In the early 1960s she was involved with the establishment of major work classes for gifted students in the Halifax school system. After the family moved to Toronto in the early 1970s she stayed at home, seeing Kate and Mary into their early teens. Mora then found employment with the National Ballet School of Canada as Vice-Principal of the academic programme. She soon became Principal and continued in that position until her retirement. She fully embraced that remarkable experience and the school embraced her. She loved the students and never took their special talents for granted. Upon retirement, Mora and Bob moved to St. John's, attracted to Newfoundland by its beauty and peace, the sea and the sky. Their hopes were rewarded and hardly a day went by without a few shared words about their good fortune. As Mora wished, her remains have been donated to the Medical Faculty of Memorial University to support their teaching programme. A gathering of friends and family will be held in Toronto on May 31st from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. at The National Ballet School's Currie Hall, 105 Maitland St., and in Halifax on June 14th from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the Dalhousie University Club, Dalhousie main campus.