Christina Reid Hamm

It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of our beloved mother, grandmother, & great grandmother, Christina Hamm, age 98 on Monday, April 4, 2016 in Northwood Centre with loving family at her side. Born December 29, 1917, she spent her entire life in the city of Halifax.

Mom was a “Halifax Explosion Baby “, born premature 23 days after the historic explosion. She weighed 2lbs at birth. The hospital staff put her in a shoe box and placed her on a radiator to stay warm. She was determined to fight for her life and join her parents and siblings who were all injured in the explosion. She was special from birth with a passion for life and a desire to have a positive impact on everyone she came in contact with.

The family settled on the corner of Chestnut and Cedar St in Halifax. Mom started school at St. Thomas Aquinas, then on to College St school, then to St.Pat’s high school on Brunswick St, and finally finished at Maritime Secretarial College on Spring Garden Road. It was during those childhood days that she met the love of her life, Frank Hamm, who lived one block away at Chestnut & Shirley Street. They married on June 30, 1942 and eventually settled a whole two blocks away on Garden Street. That became the family home for 55 years until 2011. Mom loved that neighbourhood. She loved St. Thomas Aquinas as she attended church there for over 80 years.

She was the daughter of the late Neil & Charlotte (Boudreau ) Sutherland. She is survived by her daughters, Janet ( Pat Curran ), Susan ( Valentine Merchant) and sons Rick, Kevin (Darlene); daughter in law, Gale; grandchildren - Kelly, Patrick, Kevin, Katherine, Brigid, Terry, Robin, Christina, Charlotte, Nicole, Amanda; greatgrandchildren – John Padraig, Ciara, Kieran, Ceilidh, Molly, Addy Lou, Adam, Lawrence and Reid. She was predeceased by her husband, Frank; son, Robert; grandson Sean; great-grandson Ethan; and 11 siblings - Dennis, Frank, Stanley, Ada, Catherine Ross (“Rossi”), Mary, Annie, Freda, Peter, Frances & Catherine Margaret (“Bobby”).

Life on Garden St was busy as all her kids attended St. Thomas Aquinas school and St. Pat’s High. The house was full of energy, great cooking, card games, and family. Unbeknownst to her neighbours, Mom was the Garden St “curtain detective.” She knew everything that went on and around that street. There were no secrets. Neighbours knew that if they did something nice for her, they would get a fresh batch of brownies or date squares. They lined up.

While Dad was overseas in WW11, Mom took great pride in working at the Dalhousie Medical Clinic. After that, she was a stay at home Mom. She also took great pride in shopping. With her sisters and later on her daughters, daughters in law, and granddaughters she went to Bangor shopping for 50 straight years. And, you can be assured she brought her “ A “ game to Bangor and always told the truth at the border about how much she spent. OK.

We will miss her dearly; however, we do feel blessed and take great comfort that we had her so long. She loved – cared – shared with absolutely no conditions. Visitation will be held from 2 -4 and 6 -8 pm on Thursday April 7th at Cruikshank’s Funeral Home, 2666 Windsor St, Halifax. Funeral mass will be celebrated at St. Thomas Aquinas, 1725 Oxford Street at 1 pm on Friday April 8, 2016. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to St. Thomas Aquinas Church.

Special thanks goes out to the health care professionals at Northwood Centre lead by Suzie, Linda, Kate, Beth, Anna, Debbie, Roger and many others who took loving care of Mom for 5 years. Thank you. Special mention to relatives and close family friends Lorraine & Schaefer Coolen who faithfully visited Mom. Thank you.