Writer, broadcaster, TV producer, musician, traveller, foodie. Born May 1, 1962, in Ottawa; died April 2, 2013, in Montreal of surgery complications, aged 50.
Maura Kealey knew she wanted to write a blog about her experience with Marfan's syndrome. She just didn't know what to call it. Maura's Aorta? Me and Marfan's? She eventually settled on Me and Mrs. Dash, suggested by her husband Bob and named for the salt substitute that is used, allegedly, to perk up food in the cardiac ward, where she spent three weeks recovering from an aortic dissection.
It was an offbeat choice. Then again, anyone who knew Maura wasn't entirely surprised. Her blog, which she started last February, was about something profoundly serious, the medical condition she was diagnosed with in 1994 that would eventually take her life. But she wrote about it with humour and insight, emphasizing the positive and life-affirming.
She wrote: "I don't want a syndrome to define me." As if it could.
Maura was, in no particular order, a master pastry chef, an accomplished violinist and violist, a world traveller, a discerning foodie and a raconteur par excellence. For most of her adult life she made her living in the media, working as a feature reporter for CBC Radio before moving into television. Her productions were as varied and eclectic as the woman herself: Dogs with Jobs, Popular Mechanics for Kids, To the Max and In Real Life.
Her parents, Pat and Owen Kealey, raised a large and loving family of seven children in Ottawa. After high school Maura headed to George Brown College in Toronto where she graduated as a pastry chef in 1984. A couple of years of long days in restaurant kitchens convinced her that she needed something different, so she studied English at McGill University, graduating in 1989 with a BA.
This led to a regular gig on CBC Radio. Bright and articulate, Maura was best known for her first-person, experiential pieces, including a skydiving story in which her tape recorder malfunctioned. Undeterred, she did the jump again. One of her most popular stories involved walking around St. Urbain Street with author Mordecai Richler.
In 1993, Maura was on Montreal's Mount Royal with friends when a nearby man recognized the voice of one of his favourite CBC Radio personalities and approached them. This chance encounter sparked the beginning of a wonderful relationship. Married in 1994, Maura and Bob shared their love of good food, great friends, travel and adventure. One trip started with six months in Europe travelling in a VW camper, then continued on to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia for another eight months.
Maura's adventurous spirit and optimism were a great part of her, and she hardly let a Marfan's diagnosis dampen that. Many people weren't even aware that she had any health problems. When she couldn't hike tall mountains, she'd settle for smaller ones.
One of Maura's last blog posts began with: "We're drinking champagne – again. Used to be, we saved champagne-drinking for special occasions – but really, is that any way to live?" Maura will be remembered for her sparkling eyes, a wide smile that filled a picture and her love of life.
Ed Willes is Maura's brother-in-law.