Val Legge

Born Oct. 20, 1927 in Port of Spain, Trinidad, Valerie Legge nee Rousseau was the youngest of 12 children of Creole descent. “We were Catholic with no TV,” Val liked to say, laughing. Her family was of modest means, but all nine girls were beautiful — and Val was the prettiest. She was very popular and caught the eye of Hal Legge at age 14.  He never looked away. 

Hal’s family was prominent in the community – his father, Eric, was a plantation owner and Government official. At the end of WWII, Eric foresaw the imminent collapse of their idyllic lifestyle and decided to move his large family away from Trinidad. He sent his three oldest, including Hal, ahead to Canada to “find a family homestead.” But there was also an ulterior motive – he wanted to ‘slow down’ the passionate romance between Hal and Val, “too young!” and thought separation would do that. It didn’t. 

Hal was lost without Val, as evidenced by his passionate daily journal entries while they were separated.

Val remembers this as the most idyllic time of her life. Eric relented and asked Val’s family for permission to take her with them because Hal couldn’t live without her.

“There was no hanky-panky until they got married. Val came from a large family, so I am sure her mum was happy knowing that Hal was from a good family,” says Pat Harris, Val’s sister-in-law. And Val was more like a sister to Pat, she was one of the family.

The family of ten were the only passengers aboard a steamship that docked in Montreal, but there wasn’t enough room on the train to accommodate them so Eric, being acquainted with the head of CP Rail, wrangled for an extra car to be added so they could travel together across this vast country.

A newspaper got wind of this “rich” family traveling west. When Eric’s landlady read the article, she raised the rent on the house he had secured, which “pissed him off,” and led him to purchase the Hollies — a 29-room, 13,000 sq. ft.- mansion sitting on two acres of land on The Crescent in the heart of Shaughnessy for $15,000. Hal and Val had a winter wedding at the Hollies in 1947.

The Hollies had quite the household. Cooking and cleaning for now 14 people kept Val busy. “Grandma was used to having servants in Trinidad, but in Canada, she only had her new daughter-in-law, as all the other kids were at school,” says Val’s daughter Rhonda Legge, who helped pull together many of the interesting details of her mother’s life.  

“Years later, as kids, we would drive by the Hollies and ask, “We were rich? Why did we have to move?” Mum said, ‘You didn’t have to clean it.’”

Val was used to caring for a large family, but after Eric junior was born in 1947, “Hal/Val” (they were joined at the hip) got their own two-room walk-up off Commercial Drive. At long last, a home of her own. It was small, but it was theirs.

By the 1960s, Val was raising four kids. Her days were filled with volunteer work at the kids’ school, sewing, gardening, cooking and family visiting amongst the ever-increasing Legge family.

In 1970, Hal had a hankering to leave the city and “get back to the land,” by buying a chicken farm in Aldergrove. With great misgivings, Mom supported Dad in what he wanted (as she always did), and they gave up their beautiful house in Kerrisdale, to move to their own “Green Acres,” says Rhonda.

But this was far from bucolic. With Hal still working in town, he was a ‘weekend farmer’ and with the kids at school, Val was left with the day- to-day running of a 10,000 chicken egg farm. “Mum worked soooo hard,” remembers Rhonda. “She had always been an elegant dresser, and never left the house without lipstick, but now she was a farmer, always falling asleep by 9 p.m. with chicken feed in her hair and chicken poop on her shoes. Us kids were meant to do chores, but I knew if I left my egg collecting long enough, Mum would do it. She ran that place.”

Endless farm adventures and stories followed over the next eight years; including the year the processing plant went on strike and 3,000 chickens had to be killed by hand to make way for the new flock. 

“Mom preferred the wringing of necks vs the chopping of heads as favored by brother David. I am in awe of how hard she worked and how little she complained. She always had a tremendous sense of humour, which I am sure is what got her through, without killing my dad,” says Rhonda.

Hal eventually sold the farm and, as a reward for sticking it out all those years, he took Val on her dream trip to South America. But Hal was a reluctant traveller at best. However, they did go shopping.

“Mum bought emerald earrings in South America and daddy bought her a topaz ring and a silver 5-point candelabra at the beginning of their  one-month trip,” says Karen Legge. “She carted that candelabra around everywhere – it even went sightseeing with them because there was a little twinge in the back of her head telling her to be cautious: growing up in Trinidad had something to do with it.”

It was one of those, “If it’s Tuesday it must be Rio” kind of tours. Hal saw the glory of Machu Pichu as “just a bunch of rocks.” 

As for their last night:

Val: “Let’s go dancing.”

Hal: “No.”

Val: “What? Why not?”

Hal: “I’m tired.”

So Val stood on the balcony, overlooking Copacabana beach, watching the glamorous night fade away while Hal watched Yogi Bear on a 12-inch, black-and-white TV — in Portuguese. “Mum told this as a funny story, but I can only imagine her frustration.”

And she bought gifts home for everyone, from every trip. Karen remembers a poncho from South America and material from Hawaii. She loved to entertain and never forgot anyone’s birthday. “And she was a prolific baker. They had two dining room tables and her fruit pies covered both tables,” adds Karen.  

The couple moved to Shaughnessy in 1978, to a beautiful house (where a neighbor asked Val if she was the maid). And Hal came home from work for lunch every day, until he retired in 1985, cramping Val’s freedom. He wouldn’t go anywhere without her, so she now accompanied him everywhere. Eventually, they sold the big house, moving into Eric and Simone’s basement, while looking for their ideal retirement home, “It was only meant to be temporary, but Dad started to settle in, leaving Mum grumbling about ‘40 years of marriage, and I’m back living in a damn basement.’” But living below their grandchildren made it endurable and they became snowbirds, spending winters in Las Vegas where Val developed a fondness for the slots. Life was good.

However, tragedy struck in 1988. Daughter-in-law Simone, whose home they were living in, was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer. Five days later, Hal died unexpectedly from a massive heart attack in his doctor’s office, just three days after their 41^st wedding anniversary. Over the next few months, four other family members would pass away. It was a surreal time.

At age 60, Val found herself on her own for the first time in her life.

While grieving her losses, she started the next chapter of her independent life. Val moved out of the basement into a bright apartment and replaced the dark and heavy furniture with light and pretty pieces. She bought jeans and she started travelling. Seeing her mother now, Rhonda realized how much influence her dad wielded.   

“Their relationship was a product of their time,” says Rhonda. “The man was the head, but the woman was the neck. I always thought my Dad was domineering and they didn’t have anything in common, Mom loved to dance and socialize and travel, and Dad was a curmudgeon, but, in fact, he was very romantic and adored my mother until the day he died. I am actually glad he went first because he would not have survived without her. Mom was always the stronger one.”

Over the next 30 years Val carried on, living her independent life. She was dedicated to her grandchildren, always available to babysit and pursued her own interests. Free at last to travel, she went on many trips and met many friends who she could travel with. The best was on a trip to Britain when she met her “Golden girls” — four ladies on the tour from her hometown and they became very good friends, until she eventually outlived them all. 

Valerie remained active well into her 80s — she took up competitive 5-pin bowling and won awards and also took up clog dancing and was an avid knitter and crocheter –- everyone in the family got a blanket made by her.

Val was fiercely independent and lived on her own until she was 90. But after three falls at home, she listened to her family, and moved into the Residences at Belvedere, where she lives today. 

Val says she was blessed in her life to have found her soul mate early on and they were together for more than 40 years. She also got to experience life on her own, starting at age 60, and she led a very happy life dedicated to family and friends. 

Karen says Val’s side of the family live well into their late 90’s, so “we are blessed to have her for so long. Her unfailing, humor, kindness, selflessness all make her a favourite amongst the staff, and her family is so grateful she is looked after and safe.” 

“When I moved her to the Belvedere Seniors Home, I found her dancing shoes with taps on the soles. Mum loved shoes, she had a lot. She struggled with weight in her later years, but she prided herself on thin ankles. And she loved lipstick. Just two years ago I bought her red lipstick and she wore it right away. She is the only person I know who runs out of lipstick!”