‘Saying Goodbye to a Legacy’: Laura Daye, NS Matriarch and Buddy Daye’s Widow, Dies at 90 – Halifax | The Canadian News

Laura Daye, a valued community member, matriarch and widow of Nova Scotia professional boxer and African activist Delmore “Buddy” Daye, has died at the age of 90.

The former teacher and mother of nine died Monday of natural causes at a Halifax-area hospital.

“It’s like saying goodbye to a legacy,” Leslie Daye, the couple’s daughter, said in an interview.

Laura was born and raised in Digby County, which is where she met Buddy while he was visiting there decades ago.

“The story is that Mom said to Dad when I was little, ‘I’m going to marry you someday, Buddy Daye,'” Leslie said, adding with a smile, “Mom made her claim a long time ago.”

Laura was the youngest of 17 siblings and her mother died when she was a little girl.

“Mom always had a certain sadness and a certain longing for a mother’s love, because she was only two years old when her biological mother passed away,” said Leslie, adding that a positive side of her death is that she “finally gets to know to his mother. “

Any love Laura lost by not knowing her own mother was bestowed on her own nine children, Leslie said.

“Mom was very, very loving and caring when we were younger,” Leslie said, adding that she was “infamous for her big kisses.”

As they got older, Laura took on a more disciplinary role, making sure her children didn’t get into trouble. “Strict, but in a good way,” Leslie said.

Laura was also heavily involved in Cornwallis Street Baptist Church, now known as New Horizons Baptist Church, where she sang in the choir for over 45 years.

Leslie said she will continue to be involved in the church community in honor of her mother.

Lots of love’

Many Nova Scotians are likely familiar with Buddy Daye, who died in 1995. He was a celebrated professional boxer and Nova Scotia’s first African sergeant at arms in the province. Now there is a Halifax Institute of Learning and a street named after him.

But Laura preferred to live out of the public eye, working in the background to raise her children and give them the best life possible.

There was “a lot of love” in the house, Leslie said.

“Mom and Dad were very close, and Mom enjoyed our family time and our laughs,” she said.

After Buddy’s death, Laura continued to stay out of the limelight, though she often told her children privately that she missed her husband.

“They would interview her in public about my father’s legacy, she would just say, ‘I had a good husband and I wish he was still here with me,’” Leslie said. “That’s all you can really get out of it.”

In her later years, Laura had been living in the Northwood long-term care home in Halifax. They took her to the hospital for the weekend when she was not feeling well.

Leslie, along with other members of her extended family, spent time with her during her short hospital stay and said goodbye Monday morning.

“He opened his eyes and looked directly at me,” Leslie said.

“I leaned in and she said, ‘I want to thank you.’ And of course the tears came, I just cried.

“I said, ‘Mom, you don’t have to thank us. Thank you, you were a good mother. You were a very good mom to all of us. ‘