Pamela Ireland, Maid of Honour at the wedding of Lesley Peters (nee Carswell) and Olaf Peters

Pamela Ann Ireland. Source: Obituary for Pamela Ann Ireland

The following text from Bob Carswell is an addition to a previous post entitled:

Memories of Pam Ireland-Mason of Malcolm Campbell High School

Maid of Honour

Bob Carswell writes:

My sister Lesley Peters (nee Carswell) just confirmed that Pamela Ireland was indeed her Maid of Honour at her wedding. Pamela was actually 2 years younger than Lesley but they had known each other for quite some time even though they really did not go to high school together at any point as Pam also lost a year because of her accident.

Lesley had returned to Canada after several years in Switzerland working as a nurse and learning Dutch by working in a box factory in the Netherlands. Lesley and her future husband Olaf Peters would get married at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Cartierville across the street from Cartierville School.

Pam Ireland-Mason and Irene Moodie-Johnson at the Grad Dance 1968. Source: Irene Moodie-Johnson

The wedding reception was at home in Saraguay. My Irish great uncle Charlie Brown who had been a tank driver in WWI was Lesley’s godfather and gave a lengthy toast at her reception.

Standing out on the back patio, all eyes were on him when a large fat toad suddenly jumped on to one of his shiny shoes and just sat there while everyone giggled. He wasn’t aware of the toad but was certainly enough of a public speaker and humourist for him to think it was his speech that was generating the laughs. I can visualize that toad to this very day.

CUSO

Living on the South Shore of Montreal after their wedding Olaf Peters taught Phys Ed and Lesley nursed in the city at various hospitals for about two years while they set their plans in motion to go overseas with CUSO to Zambia for the next two years.

May 2015 photo of Church of Good Shepherd, across the street from Cartierville School. Scott Munro photo

When they finally settled in Apeldoorn after a lengthy trip through the Far East they started their family. When they were old enough to travel, the family spent their entire summers in Canada at my parents’ retirement home on a lake north of Kingston. Today, both kids are totally bilingual because of it.

I only clearly remember four things about my sister’s wedding, (1) a picture of Lesley in her wedding dress, (2)Pamela Ireland as Maid of Honour, (3) Charlie Brown giving his toast and (4) the Party Toad that came to visit. RIP Pam, the journey is over.