Emily Hearn Valleau
Writer, mentor, wife, great-grandmother. Born on Jan. 17, 1925, in Markham, Ont.; died on July 20, 2015, in Toronto, of complications from Alzheimer's disease, aged 90.
Emily loved to write, starting as a teenage poet and eventually becoming an acclaimed author. She wrote children's books such as Franny and the Music Girl and Hattie Pearl Click Click, as well as scripts for radio and television (including 144 episodes of Polka Dot Door), and, with Mark Thurman, created the Mighty Mites comic strip for Owl Magazine. She spread her passion to others, coaching teachers on how to use creative writing and music in their classrooms.
Emily Hearn was a lively 16-year-old poet from Kitchener, Ont., when she began studies in English Literature at Trinity College, University of Toronto and immediately formed friendships, many of which proved to be lifelong.
Through two marriages, she was always writing as her daughter and three sons grew up. When money was scarce, her skills kept the household going with temporary work she could do from home. She could type faster than the wind and, for a while, put addresses on envelopes – at a penny a piece, while her kids played "fight like cowboys" and jumped on the couch and slid down the stairs.
By the early 1960s, she was teaching nursery school in Toronto, first at Howard Park United Church and then at what is now the Jewish Community Centre. This was the beginning of her many years of engaging with young children. Later she worked with children with disabilities, alongside Fran Herman, a pioneer of music therapy in Canada.
In 1967 she married Doug Valleau, her third husband – a union of poets that would last 43 years until his death in 2010. Doug's four daughters from a previous marriage and Emily's youngest son (her three eldest had left home by then) were part of what illustrator Mark Thurman describes as "a very creative environment." He recalls, "We often got stuck on part of a story. Emily would jump up, sit at the piano, play Bach or Mozart, and then suddenly stop. 'I've got it!' she'd yell. Then off we'd go again – her talking, me drawing."
As the years passed and the kids left home, Emily and Doug travelled frequently. But her writing and mentorship flourished. In 1990, she established Write With You, the elementary-school program of Writers in Electronic Residence, and for 20 years mentored children by e-mail.
The lively family gatherings were a jolly mix of exes and steps and ex-steps, with grandchildren eventually spanning in age through 42 years. When a child would ask how two "aunts" were related, the adults would exchange bewildered glances and give up, saying "We're all just family." Emily's vibrant enthusiasm drew everyone together. Her days were so busy and active that one of her granddaughters called her Secca: Whenever she phoned, Emily would say "Just a sec!" before returning to talk.
In her later years, she lived in a condominium tower with three elevators, each facing a different direction. Visitors could become disoriented when trying to determine which corridor to follow. One young granddaughter recalled how, at that moment, you would see Emily standing outside her door waving, a look of absolute delight on her face. This reflects the essence of Emily: helping you to find your way while making you feel like the most special person in the world.
Sue Carduelis is Emily's daughter; Allan Wadley is her nephew.