Mary Stocks & Ron
I have known Mary and her sister since I was a teenager. They are our second cousins, the daughters of Ida Babcock and Herb Stocks. Since they are about 10 years older than my sister and I, we were in awe of them and their accomplishments and felt a bit shy, but they both made us feel very much at home. We didn’t see them very often since they lived quite a distance from us, but we always looked forward to our visits.
This photo brings back wonderful memories of visiting the Stocks/Babcock family. Mary and her sister are sitting on the left and right. Their mother, Ida, is sitting behind and their brother, Jim, is standing.
In the centre is their grandmother, Eva May, and her youngest son, Peter. We usually gathered at Eva May’s home, and Ida and her daughters, who lived next door, would join us for the afternoon.
Mary and I both have a special position in our families. Mary was the first granddaughter for Eva May and I was the first granddaughter for Charlie, Eva May’s brother. We both recall some of the fuss our grandparents made over us because of this.
Mary decided on a teaching career after she graduated from high school, and over the years taught every grade from 2 up to 12.
She took numerous summer courses over the years to upgrade her teaching certification and that is how she met her husband, Ron, at McMaster University in 1957.
Their engagement was announced in the Ottawa newspaper on July 30, 1958 and they married on Aug. 16 in Aurora. Four sons were born in the next eleven years, and they now have six grandchildren added to their flock.
Mary and Ron have been very active throughout their lives, participating in many activities including curling, church events, musical dramas and choirs. In 1980 they travelled to Hawaii on a two week vacation with Mary’s uncle, Bill Babcock, and his wife. Bill was only 8 years older than Mary; so he has always felt more like a big brother to her than an uncle.
Throughout the years there has always been a close connection, and a lot of interaction, between the Stocks/Babcock family and the Woodley family on my side. As I mentioned previously in the story of Eva May Butteris Woodley, Mary’s grandmother, Eva May and my grandfather, Charlie Woodley, were siblings, and the families visited each other frequently.
On top of that, some of the children in later years lived at the homes of their relatives when they were working in the area. Mary told me that Charlie’s son, Jack, lived with Eva May for a while when he worked in Aurora. And Mary lived for a short time with Charlie’s oldest son, Bill and his wife in Scarborough when she took her first teaching job.
Mary also remembers a visit with another branch of the Woodley family. When she was a child, she recalls travelling with her mother, Ida, and grandmother, Eva May, to visit another Ida May Woodley and her husband Ray Britton in Toronto. Mary recalls meeting their son Bob Britton, who was a year younger than her. Perhaps Bob still remembers that visit.
Since it can be very confusing, I will refer to the two Ida May Woodley’s by adding their birth year to their name. This is a photo of Ida May 1896 in 1911. She was the daughter of Henry Francis (Frank) Woodley, the oldest brother of the Ida May Woodley 1872 in these stories. Ida May 1896 was born 7 years after her aunt died in 1889 and was most likely named after her.
As you may have experienced, it can be very easy to confuse the two Ida May’s in our family history as well as the many Ida’s and May’s.
Mary and Ron have enjoyed being active in the community where they lived throughout their married life. On their 50th wedding anniversary in 2008 they were delighted to celebrate with a large gathering of friends and family.
I have never met Ron, but when we connected a couple of years ago, I discovered we shared an interest in sports. At the time, both of us were avidly watching curling on TV, a sport which Ron used to play.
Ron has also kept himself very busy with another hobby – maintaining thorough records of their growing family, and he diligently sent out greetings to each of them for special occasions such as birthdays.
They have slowed down somewhat in recent years (as we all have), but they still enjoy meeting friends, playing bridge and taking part in activities such as Aquafit when they can.
