Mary Stella Schembri's memory board

In August of this year, we were lucky enough to celebrate Mum’s 80th Birthday. On that day, she got to hear most of these words that we are sharing with you today, and how much she was loved. On the 23rd of November 2012 at 4:50pm, Mum finally closed her eyes and on her last breath, we then realised we lost our best friend forever. We were all there for Mum, helping her pass with comfort and respect and at the same time singing “AND SHOO SHOO ALL OF US’!! She was so sick, she still tried to put on a brave face and had that wonderful SMILE! How can we best describe our mum…? She was BRAVE- the way she conducted herself throughout her illness with such courage. Her SMILE was big. A smile I believe we can always remember, no matter how much pain she was going through. It was always there. Her HEART was bigger. Her doors were always open for a guaranteed good cup of tea and something to eat. Everyone flocked to Mum’s place, even visitors from overseas would just rock up and stay for weeks! She was a great LISTENER- no matter how busy she was, she’d always make you feel important and give great advice. Loved LIFE. Her greatest joy is to be surrounded by people, or should I say they loved being around her. She was known to always have so much fun, by joking around, always the life of the party. Most of all she was very PROUD of her family. No matter where we where in the world, she would always be there for us. Always arriving with bags and bags of supplies, thinking we didn’t have enough while we were away? Always ENCOURAGING and SUPPORTIVE toward our goals and dreams. She certainly was PROTECTIVE. If anyone did anything to us, she was there to stand up for us. She made sure were all were brought up always with family. The love she had toward her family was unconditional, especially with our dad. He was her TRUE LOVE….. he never left her side for the past 12 months and even before that he was always very close by. As you all know it truly was all about our dad, Carmenu, and that’s why you’ll see lots of photos and hear stories about dad today, because they were inseparable. Mum was born in Sliema, Malta on 15 August 1932. She’s one of seven kids: Iris, Joe, Sarah, Charlie, Alfred and Frank; her parents being Theresa and Hugh Dayney. She married Dad in Malta on the 19th of October, 1952, after Dad pursued her on his motor bike. They had their first child in Malta, our brother Martin. In 1954 they migrated to Australia with their newborn child and seven months pregnant with Alex, arriving in Sydney. I soon follwed and after that they kept on going having three more kids: Manuel, Walter and Dolores. It pretty much all started on Karabar Street in 1954, up at the Heights. Vivid memories of the butcher (Pons), Lucas, the chemist. Carmen Barnier across the road, the Gaucis next door. Every Saturday morning you can hear them playing their Elvis Presley records; meanwhile, Alex and myself would have these pretend dancing competitions while Tony Gauci would peep through the fence. Aunty Sarah and Uncle Joe lived next door on one side, while her brother Uncle Charlie and his family lived behind us. Meanwhile, our Nunna arrived from Malta with her two sons, Alfred and Frank, they lived with us in the temporary dwelling. What really mattered to Mum was we were all together. Even though Mum really missed Malta and her roots, she adapted so well to the Australian way of life and was proud to be an Australian citizen. One of her proudest moments was seeing her and dad's name on the immigration tribute wall at Darling Harbor a few years ago: Panel: 39, Column: 2, Line number: 53. A cute little white house, with a porch out the front, with two white Adirondack chairs and bench, I can still see our Nunna waiting for us to come home from school. Happy memories! Memory of our childhood was a LOT OF FUN! A lot of parties, great music and who can sing the loudest!! A lot of people, a lot of good food and a lot of laughs! Our parties were not elaborate but you were always guaranteed a very good time! I can still see Uncle Frank playing the piano in this tiny lounge room, full of music, full of smoke and people, I mean family and friends. Friends which are probably here today! The kitchen was loud, the kitchen table small, but had so much food. Can you still smell the pastizzis? Mum and her sisters, Aunty Iris "Flossy" and Aunty Sarah "Sa Sa" held a special bond. They worked so well together, always supporting each other throughout their lives. Thank you to both of them. Mind you she was strict with us as children growing up, bitting one finger, chasing us the wooden spoon (the iyama), at the same time, laughing, and not able to hold herself from smiling at the same time. By the time she caught up with us, the whole situation became hilarious! Mum was a really good cook, she had this way of making these beautiful desserts, marzipans and, of course, the one and only cannolli, yummy! I believe she was the first to try to make fried ice cream and also popular, her homemade crème caramel. Between her and Aunty Sarah, they used to host these beautiful dinner parties, it started to be become quite competitive, it was like a Maltese version of READY STEADY COOK! So we really enjoyed eating and appreciating these great dishes. She also had this way of being a hairdresser; her speciality was perming everyone’s hair on Saturday afternoons. I used to love the old stories, coming from the old days! Especially them dating each other! Mum was well read, loved that medical dictionary, she knew every old-time Hollywood star and scandal about the royal family. She also loved singing and not a bad voice did she have! How can we ever forget her love of going out and having a little flutter on the poker machines? “Why not?,” she would say. How clearly I can remember those very hot summer days, WHAT pool?, WHAT air conditioner?… Dad used to gather us up after dinner (knowing very well, he had to get up early the next day for work) pack us all in this tiny car (sometimes making room for Aunty Mary as well) and take us to Brighton-le-Sands beach, just so we could cool off! It’s amazing when I think about it now, with no mobile phones, somehow, the word got out and here comes Aunty Sa Sa, with her family. These are memories I will always treasure. Then came 60 Polding Street where the rest of the kids grew up. More pool parties, band practice, and now the older kids were starting to settle down and the younger ones were following our footsteps!! So, Mum and Dad never really rested for long. Mum and Dad were both such hard workers, and it was all for US. We have all grown up, and in our own special ways have all achieved success. From award winning photographer, World Ten Dance Champion, business owners, university degrees, and chef. We’re truly are a reflection of her love and dedication. We always had these most amazing birthdays and Christmases and no matter what, we always had a new outfit for special occasions. As we see the next generation growing up, they’ve already proven to be quite successful. All graduated, moving on to bigger and better things, with three of the grandchildren attending uni. Successful businesses, world-known and award winning photograher, property owners, skilled tradeworkers and an amazing chef. They're all achievers and hard workers. Nanna was very proud of each one of her grandkids. She had such respect for Wendy, Julie, John, Erika and Andrew knowing that they have brought up her grandchildren so well. One thing for sure, they all have that beautiful spark in their eyes, along with that special SMILE. This has been a smile, we have notice throughout our years, no matter what we’ve been through, it’s always been there. Dad was her idiol. But for Martin she was so proud of his talent with photography; she loved watching Alex on the dancefloor. She loved to travel wherever my life took me, Texas, Louisiana, and especially France. She loved to hear Manuel sing, loved eating at Wally’s restaurant, and later, Dolores’s kids gave her a boost in life. Now, Karabar Street no longer exists, and Dad has moved out of Polding Street. But after 60 years together, their love WAS very, very strong. It was so amazing to watch our parents enjoy their life together with such love and respect for each other. I know I’m speaking on the behalf of Martin, Alex, Manuel, Wally and Dolores, no words can describe how dearly we will miss Mum. Many, many thanks for being there for us when times were not so easy. Many, many thanks for always giving us the right advice. Thank you for being so giving Mum. We always had a lovely home and a good meal on the table. How do we thank you enough? Our love for you Mum will always be forever in our hearts, you were not just a mother to us, YOU WERE OUR ONE TRUE FRIEND. So to sum it all up in Mum's special words that she used to sing at every party….. ‘AND SHOO SHOO ALL OF US.’’ GOOD BYE MUM AND WE ALL LOVE YOU SO MUCH…