VERA MAE GRAHAM (STOREY)

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VERA MAE GRAHAM (STOREY) Peacefully on Thursday, April 20, 2000 at the Grace General Hospital, Mae Graham passed away at the age of 92 years. Mae is survived by her loving daughter June; brother Ott; sisters-in-law, Irene Storey and Wanda Storey; special friends, Maureen Dowds and Betty Ross-Todd; as well as many nieces, nephews and their spouses including special niece Lynda Walker. She was predeceased by her husband Verne in 1985; brothers, Eldie, Cec and his wife Ev, and Jack; sisters, Nina and her husband Bob, Shirl and her husband Bill; sister-in-law Babe; brothers-in-law, Allie and his wife Evelyn, Elmer and his wife Dode; and by her niece Diane Trafton. On July 29, 1907, Mae was born in Arden, Manitoba, the second child born to Tom and Sarah (Coulter) Storey, two of Lansdowne districts earlier pioneers. She loved sports and in her younger years spent many hours skating in the winter and swimming in the summer in the White Mud River which ran through town. As she got a little older, many winter hours were spent curling with her father Tom and older brother Eldie at the local curling rink, while the lazy days of summer were spent practicing baseball and on weekends competing in local small town tournaments. Mae moved to Winnipeg in her early twenties, and married Verne Graham, also from Arden, on October 2, 1930. Although Mae was anxious to pursue her interest in recreational sports upon her arrival in the big city, she considered womens softball to be a sissy game, so limited her involvement to being a spectator with her husband and later her daughter at womens games at Sherburn Park, Osborne Stadium and Wesley Park. Their interest in the game continued as they followed their daughters participation in the sport in the fifties, sixties, and the beginning of the seventies. Mae was always "somewhat" vocal as a spectator and never left any doubt as to what team she was pulling for. Those who knew her well also knew she never lost her enthusiasm for baseball over the years, as it was a "must" each fall for her to take some of her vacation time to watch the World Series. Hockey was also a favourite years ago and many winter nights were spent watching games with Verne at the Amphitheatre. Maes interest in curling prompted her to join the Granite Curling Club and later the Fort Rouge Curling Club, where she teamed up with Esther Poulton during the thirties, forties and fifties to win a variety of events, beginning with the Birks Dingwall event in 1937. During these years they were always strong contenders, and in 1958 won the right to represent Manitoba in the first Western Canadian Womens Curling Championship in Calgary. Mae was also the President of the Fort Rouge Ladies Curling Club in 1954/55 and was the first known lady president to introduce some instruction to help newcomers improve their skill level and understanding of the game. It could be said that her attitude toward any sport she competed in was "its not whether you win or lose, but how you play the game". In 1959 Mae began working full-time at Simpsons Sears, having been a homemaker while her daughter was "trying to grow up". While working at Sears, she became a 04-29-2000

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Apr 29, 2000