This weekend Julia celebrated 85 years while hosting another successful SeaFest. What an extraordinary neighbour who has cared for and cultivated the Cortes Community.

Here are a few highlights of our neigbhour:
-Julia spent her early years in England, where her parents were physicians.
-She went to university and pursued an eclectic range of subjects- modern languages, economics and art history
-Came to Canada traveling with a friend in the late 1960’s and after many adventures in many places, getting married and having 3 children, she settled with Bill on Cortes. They first lived in a float house they bought from Bill Mathews and towed around to Squirrel Cove, where they sold bread and cinnamon buns and dug clams and oysters.
-She eventually moved to Manson’s, raised their 3 boys and bought her property.
-She was involved in the early days of the Ambulance in the 1990’s, when it was still a group of volunteers with advanced First Aid training who transported injured people in their own vehicles. She did not retire from active ambulance duty until 2015, after 23 years
-She has been involved in many community events and organizations. She is a long standing Board member of the Cortes Community Health Association and worked with the Augmented Home Support programs and Hospice. She also helped to look after her friend and Ambulance colleague Liz Richardson, so that she could stay in her home. She was a member of the Advisory Planning Committee (APC), she has been on the Board of Cortez Radio, acting as treasurer. She has been a longstanding member of the Shelllfish growers community, along with her partner Marcel , working at the Shellfish plant and eventually, having her own leases.

Thank you Julia! And for our shellfish growers and neighbours for another delicious SeaFest.