The only daughter of Maude Goldfinch and John Baldwin, Cecy had a phenomenal memory. One of her earliest recollections was of being led by her grandmother to the basement on hearing the bomb-laden German dirigibles drifting across London during the First World War.
John died of tuberculosis when Cecy was only 8. She carried with her the regret of not knowing him better, although had he lived, her life might have been more conventional.
Cecy's musical and adventurous mother took her to Labuan, Borneo, where her uncle was harbour master. Cecy remembered sitting on the deck of an anchored aircraft carrier as hundreds of seamen sang Sunday service in the presence of the Duke of York (later King George VI). She received a royal autograph for the album she kept as a memento of her exotic adventure.
Maude then took Cecy to Canada, landing in Quebec in 1928. Maude went to work in Vancouver, and Cecy settled with relatives near Calgary, finishing her schooling there. After the onset of the Depression, she was fortunate to find employment as a children's nurse in Calgary. This was a stepping stone to her many years with the family of author and adventurer R.M. Patterson. Cecy was hired by Raymond Patterson and his wife Marigold to look after their three children on the Buffalo Head Ranch in southwestern Alberta.
Caring for the children and assisting with every aspect of ranching life and Mr. Patterson's writing, Cecy rode far pastures and climbed high peaks. Shunning cowboy showmanship, she preferred the company of the quiet, artistic ranch hand whom she would regretfully disappoint by declining the marriage proposal he made on a mountaintop.
Cecy moved to Victoria in 1946. She served as librarian at the government-run Experimental Farm on the Saanich Peninsula, retiring in 1973.
Robert Punderson, a Victoria architect and Cecy's companion of many decades, shared her love of music and art, his gentleness and sensitivity a reflection of her own personality. The couple enjoyed gardening, art exhibits, the symphony and Butchart Gardens until Robert's death from emphysema in 1993. Always open to the new, Cecy delighted in being guest of honour at a same-sex wedding ceremony at 92.
Even in old age, Cecy glowed with the spirit of the young girl who climbed the alpine meadows. It was a light that drew in those who loved and cared for her. Its reward was sharing in the treasured memories of the life she was so grateful to have lived.
Les Hayter is Cecy's friend.