bout de papier, Vol. 30, No. 2 (2017), p. 33
Barbara Cram, known as Barb, passed away in her sleep, her puppy Maggie by her side, on April 10 in Courtenay, B.C.
Barb joined the Immigration Foreign Service in 1972, having obtained her BA (History) from the University of Saskatchewan and her BLS (Library Science) from the University of Alberta. She completed her overseas training in Yugoslavia before embarking on a two-year posting to New Delhi. Barb returned to Canada only to spend many months in a tropical disease ward in a Montreal hospital. Soon after completing French-language training, she resigned from the Foreign Service to attend the College of Law at the University of Saskatchewan. She practiced law in rural Saskatchewan before establishing a decade-long practice in Regina. While in Regina, Barb spent many years as a member of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, becoming regional commissioner for Manitoba and Saskatchewan.
Barb volunteered extensively in Canada and overseas, including a return to India with Habitat for Humanity.
I first met Barb in 1971 at the School of Library Science at the University of Alberta, where we both studied and became colleagues in the student government. She was a vivacious, sweet young woman, always with a smile on her lips. My wife and I will always remember a special moment with Barb. We had just arrived in Ottawa in July 1972 and sat in our room at the old Holiday Inn. We had left the prairies and the clean fresh air, transferring flights in Toronto, where we choked on the foul air. Eventually we arrived in Ottawa, which in those days was not very impressive (and we were from Edmonton!). We were sitting on the bed, forlorn and homesick, when there was a knock on the door and a small voice cried out, “Hi, it’s me, Barb, come down to the pool for a drink and meet the others.” She was a very special person to all who knew her.
Remembered by Kurt Jensen, a retired Foreign Service Officer and university colleague.
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Originally published in bout de papier, Vol. 30, No. 2 (2017), p. 33. Read the rest of this issue →
