A memorial site for Boni Townsend
by Dirk Townsend – Part 1 (check back for part 2, coming soon)
Boni was driven by love and caring for the people, plants and animals around her. She was inquisitive and well-read on politics, food, agriculture and dozens of other subjects. She was constantly applying her knowledge to care for her surroundings. She felt the pain of the world and wanted to fix it. She was ahead of her time in so many ways. She was brave, selfless and determined.
Boni Townsend
née: Mary Katherine McDowell
(21 Oct 1939 – 12 Jun 2019)
Boni passed away on June 12th at her farm in Chilliwack, BC. We welcome you to peruse the memories and photos we have posted here and further welcome you to contribute you own.
You can contribute by leaving a quick note, or adding some photos (we don’t have many of Boni’s life before BC), or sign-in to the site to post your own articles.
If you want to contact us for any reason, just drop us a line (or leave a message 416.533.0934)
— Jill, Chad and Dirk
By Christine Preto
My garden is filled with Boni plants. In a pot on my deck is a small Rosemary bush that Boni gave me years ago. She would come over and glare at me and the bush, grab some clippers and prune it back savagely and it would flush out with new growth. Good for another year. It’s old and gnarled now, much like we were. There are some tiny volunteer rosemary plants beneath the gnarled trunk and I would have delighted to show off my growing self-sufficiency. From gnarled comes the word gnarly which seems fitting as Boni was one gnarly gardener, mother and friend.
By Bernat Bernaus Townsend (12 yrs old)
My grandma was very important to me, she always has been very nice and so when she died it was very sad for me. This is why I am going to write about so many of my fondest memories of her and all the great things we’ve done together. Continue reading “Good times with Grandma”
Here are some precious photos of Boni from three eras in her life. Most photos also have a title and notes which you can see by clicking the (i) button in the Google Album.
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These are all Google Albums so you can add photos of your own. We would especially like photos and stories about Boni’s school years at Havergal and Sick-kids since we don’t have any of these.
Once you are on the Google Album page, click the ‘more photos’ button inside any of these albums to add your own: 
by Jill Townsend
It was exhausting and difficult for my mother to talk in her last weeks. She choked and coughed and slurred, yet persevered. She wanted quiet and a calm atmosphere without too much busyness or too many bodies about. Even her cat knew when it was time to settle. I feel like she was calming the mind and spirit, moving with awareness, and intention, accepting her life with its pain and joy. What she did say, was important. Continue reading “Some Words From My Mother – and a Poem”
By Chad Townsend
The death of a mother for many people including myself is a time of reflection. I write these thoughts in the hope that those who knew her will find something in the details of my Mother’s life that can inspire them in their own life. There are many things I do not know about my mother’s life. I write about my memories mostly. Continue reading “Some Thoughts on My Mother”
By Anik Bernaus Townsend (9 yrs old)
