With great sorrow, the Hamm family announces the passing of Adaline on Sept. 24, 2015.
She is predeceased by her husband Martin, brother John, sisters Sheila and Jacqueline, and grandson Nikolas, and survived by her children Ernie, Robert, Brian (Kirsten), and Cathie (Mary-Jo), granddaughter Alexandra, step-grandchildren Kirstin (Dan), Alix, and Keenan, niece Marguerite (Roger), and nephews Kellie (Ardath) and Angus, and great nieces and nephews Christie, David, Paul, Andrew, Sara, Simon, and Anna.
Adaline and her twin, Jacqueline, were born in Ladysmith on Dec. 1, 1928 to Robert and Adaline Trotter, immigrants from Scotland.
The family was forced to move from that idyllic setting to “grey” (in her words) New Westminster during the depression.
They survived the depression, the war, losing a sibling, and losing their mother.
Their father remarried, and Adaline’s step-mother nursed her through tuberculosis while she was a teenager, before antibiotics.
Adaline and her siblings managed to thrive in spite of the hardships, enjoying many happy memories of their childhood, especially summers on the beach in White Rock. They all went on to post-secondary education; Adaline earned a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy in 1952, at a time when that was unusual for a woman.
She worked as a pharmacist for the next 60 years, and remained passionate about her chosen profession all her life.
Her first job was at Lock’s Pharmacy in Chilliwack. When she started working in pharmacy, her coworkers called her “Addie,” which she kept as her working name.
In Chilliwack, she met a young teacher named Martin Hamm. They fell in love, and married in 1954. They raised four children, and remained happily married until his sudden death in 2013.
In 1962, Martin had an opportunity to make a career move to Williams Lake, and Adaline was all for it.
She had fallen in love with the area in a previous visit, and while a small part of her longed to return to the Island, she was overjoyed to make the Cariboo her home. She promptly developed deep and long lasting friendships, delved into the local arts scene, joined the University Womens Club, and became a part of the community. She tried to stay home to raise her children, but was always needed as a pharmacist in the community, including starting the pharmacy at Cariboo Memorial Hospital when it opened in 1962.
In the late ‘60s she went back to community pharmacy, ending up at Spencer-Dickie Drugs until 1981, when, with her children almost grown and her husband’s hectic career on an even keel, she finally had the time to follow her dream to start her own pharmacy and practise her passion: patient centred care.
She and Harry Kornak successfully did this in Kornak and Hamm’s Pharmacy, which was her second proudest accomplishment.
Her proudest accomplishment was her children, whom she loved passionately. She had a close loving relationship with each of them, and helped them learn and experience many things. Her favourite thing was to gather her family at Chimney Lake, where many happy hours were spent.
This tradition continued with her nephews, niece-in-law, and great nieces and nephews. All our fondest memories are of family time at the lake.
Even with her marriage, her children, and her career, she found time to maintain strong friendships, dabble in art, and take on many and varied projects. She loved reading, nature and bird watching, and playing Bridge and Scrabble. As she grew older and lost her sight, her friends gathered around to support her and read to her. The family wishes to thank all those who cared for Addie/Adaline, including the staff at Deni House.
A memorial service will be held at St. Andrew’s United Church on Sunday, Oct. 25 at 1 p.m.