Mona May Mayer (68) passed away peacefully on September 5th, 2023, at 5:00pm in Victoria, BC with her loving son close and her sister by her side.
Born May 31st, 1955, in Whitehorse Yukon, Mona lived a life of love and care for her family, friends and especially her son, Justin. With her two siblings Sherry and Barry, and the rest of her extended family including Aunt Betty, she touched many people with her intelligence and her love for planet earth, animals, plants, flowers and all living beings.
Mona loved animals, was a vegan and had an intense passion for natural solutions and health. She loved arts and crafts, starting with sewing and quilting including making her own clothes and eventually taking up fine art painting. Her painting talents flourished, and she even got to the point of selling her artworks and prints. Numerous stores had her cards on display, and she sold more than she ever imagined when she first started. Her painting was her biggest accomplishment in life however she would say it was being a mother to her son. Always helping and loving him she would make any sacrifice for him, and she was truly a special and great mother.
Mona was a very nice lady to most people she met and while strong-willed and stubborn she was easily accommodating, worrying more about other people’s feelings and wellbeing than her own. She would give you the shirt off her back if you were feeling cold, only asking you to do the same in return if she needed. She had an intense love for nature and loved the fresh smell of the forest more than anyone. Drawn to nature and animals, she wanted to change and save the planet. Mona knew there was a problem with the Ozone layer before science ever publicized it as such, and she wanted to synthesize ozone to help with the warming planet.
Mona was an avid gardener and florist. She loved gardening and getting her hands dirty with plants and flowers. Wherever she lived she always had a robust and flourishing garden, often including a vegetable plot. Her green thumb was amazing yet to her she was just an amateur, always with great admiration for those she deemed more experienced or talented. Humble to the core, Mona lived a troubled life cut too short but a life full of perseverance and strength. She overcame many problems in her life to be successful in whatever she was doing, whether waitressing, gardening or painting.
She will be remembered by her family and friends and many people she touched with her Art or passions. She loved them more than anyone will ever know. When her time came to go into the Hospital her true colors showed and she faced it with humor and strength, making many nurses and friends and family laugh at her funny jokes and sense of humor. She will truly be missed by many.
Mona did not want a service, just to be cremated and have her goods sold at auction. Her son kept her wishes. Her website monamay.ca and art will be celebrated and maintained with art cards, prints and more available for sale, and is the best way to celebrate and remember her.
Love you Mom. You were the best! I’m so glad I had all the years with you I did. I now know how special you were to me, I’ll miss you every day.
Yo Yo Mo!
Hope everything is to your liking in your new place. I can see all the flowers and veggies from here and say hi to your cat for me. Remember all the car rides you would give me in that poor grey Volvo that we each crashed once and Dad would fix it with all the anger he could muster? Remember all the long long phone calls we had about everything from Love , Life and everything in between? Remember I would put the phone next to the record player and ask you if you could make out the words on the Dooby Brothers song China Grove so I could play drums along with it?
Remember you turning me onto Led Zeppelin , Rod Stewart and Joplin? Remember bumping into each other in the storage area under the stairs in the basement where we stole sips from dads homemade wine, that was hilarious? I know you do. Most of all Remember you are my Sister my Friend and my Buddy, talk soon LOVE BIG BRO
My sincere condolences to Justin, Sherry, Barry, and all her family and many friends for the great loss of a wonderful caring lady my cousin Mona May. I unfortunately did not have the privilege of knowing Mona May that well because of distance, but I do remember when Mona May and her family would come home to new Germany on vacation and stay with my grandparents Hallett and Mona Russell children, I remember the songs and skits that Mona May and Sherry would sing” I’m a little teapot” and “who stole the cookies from the cookie jar” so cute! And playing together in the big Russell house as children and also when Ilona may came home with a friend when she was a teenager other than that it was nice to keep in touch with her on Facebook, especially in these last few years we had many good talks and of course a beautiful card. She would send me every Christmas, and again the spring. I will always cherish them.
Justin, you are a wonderful son, and your mother thought the world of you take care of yourself as she would want you to do. You were always there when she needed you❤️. It was wonderful to know that Sherry and Barry were there with you both at the hospital and reminisce over old times❤️
Thank you for the kind words Patty 🙏 😊
Justin and family,
I knew Mona for a time when we both lived in Clearwater, BC. She was a truly remarkable woman. Our age gap was vast but she never held that against me! She was always generous with her time and intelligence. We moved away and did not keep in touch, however her spirit was such that I thought of her often. I was going through some papers and found a remarkable letter from her and found of her passing. I am so sorry for the loss of her from this world.
Thanks for the kind words. She was definitely a special lady in many ways. I miss her every day and see and feel her presence all over the place, often forgetting that she is gone. Thanks again. Justin Mayer