Obituary of Vera Mary Good

Vera Mary Good died on Tuesday, March 19, at Norview Lodge in Simcoe in her 104th year. Born on a small farm in what is now the City of Waterloo on November 13, 1915, she was the 5th child of Henry and Mary (Martin) Good. Her siblings are all deceased: Viola, Lorene, Milton, Edna, Erma, Robert, and Harold. She had no children herself but was a favorite Aunt to 12 nieces and nephews. The family is particularly grateful to Joan and Paul Good and to Mary Beth and Brad Smith for their care and oversight of Vera during her final years in Simcoe.

Vera had a long and interesting life recently chronicled in a biography by Nancy Silcox. She was at heart a teacher, beginning her own life-long education in a one-room rural school and culminating in 1965 with a doctoral degree from Columbia University in New York. Her professional career started as a teacher of grades 1 to 8 at Riverbank School near Breslau, but was interrupted by a stint in India serving with the Mennonite Central Committee after WWII.

Vera, specializing in programs for gifted children, became only the second female principal appointed by the Township of Etobicoke. She was the first woman to be appointed to the rank of inspector with Ontario’s Department of Education.  When Educational Television was established in Ontario in 1965 she was part of the original team. She was a co-winner of a Gemini Award in 2010 for her work as the original producer of “Polka Dot Door,” TVO’s longest running series.  In 1971 Vera married Antoni “Talleck” Nowakowski. They lived in Toronto’s Rosedale until his death in 1976.

 

In June of 2010, Vera received an honourary Doctor of Letters degree from Wilfred Laurier University. She delivered the convocation address to a standing ovation, although by that time legally blind.

Vera was herself until the very end.  She maintained her independent spirit, good sense of humour, and general interest in life and those around her. She will be missed. As per her wishes, cremation has taken place and burial will be at the Erb Street Mennonite Church Cemetery in Waterloo. A memorial gathering is being planned for a yet-to-be-determined date. Information will be made available on the Erb & Good Family Funeral Home website www.erbgood.com.