Mastin, Edith

EDITH LYNNE MASTIN (1950 – 2010) Passed away peacefully in her Sudbury home on Thursday, surrounded by family, after a courageous battle with cancer. Beloved wife of Arthur (“Rennie”) Mastin. Ceaselessly devoted mother to Reynolds, Ryan and Jonathan. Loving daughter to Tom (predeceased) and Jean Kiley. Loyal sister and friend to Allyson, Elizabeth (Glenn), Louise (Anthony), Tom (Lawrence), Timothy (Anna), Barbara and David (Cathy). Treasured sister-in-law to Catherine and Helen. Deeply missed by nephews and nieces John (Kim), Jane (Todd), Rebecca, Kyle, Tera, Joshua, Tyson, Andrew, Ian and Beth; and by great nephews and great nieces Brooke, Madison, Victoria, Wyatt, Morgan and Sean. Lynne was born in the company town of Creighton Mine on February 15, 1950, the second of eight children. Growing up in a three bedroom house with so many siblings brought with it its fair share of challenges, but Lynne always considered it an extraordinary gift to have been blessed with such a large, tight-knit family. Being the second oldest, she saw it as her responsibility to look after her younger siblings, many of whom came to see her as a second mother. When she was nineteen Lynne went to secretarial school and landed a job with the Sudbury law firm of Desmarais, Keenan. She was assigned to the firm’s new articling student, a promising young man from Manitoulin Island, Rennie Mastin. When Rennie returned to Toronto to complete his bar exams, he and Lynne began dating, with the two of them spending many a weekend on Manitoulin, where Rennie ran his family’s grocery and clothing stores. Lynne would often say that these trips to Manitoulin opened up a whole new world for her, particularly the window into Canadian Aboriginal life that came from the Mastin family’s longstanding bonds and friendships with the Native people of the Wikwemikong Unceded Indian Reserve, who made up the vast majority of both stores’ clientele. Lynne married Rennie in 1972, and that fall she enrolled as a student at Laurentian University, pursuing a degree in history, with a focus on Russian studies. She approached her education with the disciplined focus and unflagging intellectual curiosity that became her trademarks in everything she did in life, including taking a trip with Rennie in 1975 to several of the Soviet Republics, long before such trips became a common event. Just a couple of months shy of completing her degree, Lynne gave birth to her first son. From that point forward she devoted herself completely to being a mother – a role that she cherished above all else and at which she excelled. Lynne believed that children should follow their own interests and dreams, and not those of their parents. While she was always there to offer them advice about how to go about achieving their goals, she respected her children’s choices and made sacrifices to support them that far exceeded the call of parental duty. While a mother first and foremost, over the course of her life Lynne wore multiple other hats and had to simultaneously juggle a staggering number of responsibilities that rarely left her with time to pursue her own personal interests. Whether it was being the primary caregiver to her mother-in-law, managing the family businesses, serving on the Board of Directors of the Ontario College of Teachers, or running her husband’s legal practice, Lynne somehow always managed to do all that was asked of her, and to do it in accordance with the exceptionally high standards that she set for herself. Lynne also felt a particularly strong sense of connection towards women in crisis. The door to her home was always open and she devoted countless hours to helping the women who came into her life get back on their feet and navigate the often intimidating complexities of our legal and health care systems. During her brief moments of free time, Lynne spent most of it reading – preferably while sitting on the front deck of her cottage on Manitoulin Island, which she considered to be an almost sacred place of refuge and renewal. She also returned to Laurentian to complete her degree, where in addition to refreshing her Russian, she picked up Italian – the first indispensible step, she would often say, in realizing her dream of retiring in Tuscany. Long before the term became fashionable, Lynne adopted a truly holistic approach to her health. After being diagnosed with celiac’s disease at 32, she began a life-long process of researching the latest developments in nutrition, natural healing and spiritual development, amassing a library of books that would rival that of most health care practitioners. And she practiced what she preached – exercising a legendary dietary self-discipline over many decades.It was therefore all the more shocking to those who knew her when Lynne was diagnosed with a very advanced form of colon cancer in July 2009. While her cancer was considered incurable, this did not discourage her. On the contrary, Lynne demonstrated an optimism and courageousness that inspired everyone who came into contact with her. Her determination to leave no stone unturned took her on an odyssey that led her to first to Toronto, then to Chicago (where through the incredible generosity of family friends, she was able to fly by private jet), and ultimately to an integrative cancer clinic in the tiny village of Bad Heilbrunn, Germany. Notwithstanding her travels, Lynne considered her greatest ally to be her Sudbury oncologist, Dr. Pablo Cano, whom she described as her “guardian angel.” Lynne’s entire family is profoundly grateful to Dr. Cano for his extraordinary devotion to her and for his willingness to give thoughtful consideration to non-conventional forms of cancer treatment. The family also extends its deepest thanks to Lynne’s homecare nurse, Linda Rodgers, whose competence and compassion provided a great source of comfort to Lynne and her loved ones during her final days. Lynne will forever be remembered as a woman of quiet elegance, beauty and grace, whose fundamental goodness shone as a guiding light to her family and friends, and most especially, to her boys. A memorial service for Lynne will be held at St. Paul’s Anglican Church in Manitowaning (Spragge Street) on Manitoulin Island on Wednesday, May 26 at 2:00 pm. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Stephen Lewis Foundation (www.stephenlewisfoundation.org). Arrangements entrusted to the LOUGHEED FUNERAL HOME.