Tribute brunch recalls a mother’s ‘pearls of wisdom’

Pear Marcus
Pearl Marcus and friend in Mexico, 2009 MARCUS FAMILY PHOTO

Pearl Marcus had a penchant for planning ahead.

Even while undergoing chemotherapy for pancreatic cancer, she thought of her two daughters, filling a diary with advice and observations on life to help the girls plan for the future.

Jaclyn, now 23, and Michelle Marcus, 21, came to call their mother’s ruminations “pearls of wisdom.” They honoured them so much that the original diary is kept in a safety deposit box, and they study page copies.

“It was a road map she provided, the kind of values the girls will always treasure and that will guide them,” says Pearl’s husband, Paul Marcus, who has long been involved in Toronto’s Jewish community.

A sampling:

• “For happy, think about what you want, and follow your dream. Most people don’t get there on their first try. But always believe in yourself.”

• “Although God works in mysterious ways, I would rather have my life shorter than a life without the joys I have experienced.”

• “Enjoy life and always take time to do the things that make you smile.”

Pearl died in October 2012. She was 50.

This Sunday, Sept. 18, a “mentoring” brunch titled “Pearls of Wisdom” will pay tribute to Pearl Marcus and raise funds for the program that treated her, the Panov Program in Precision Chemotherapy at Mount Sinai Hospital.

“Mom touched everyone in a special way, so our family chose to honour her by celebrating mentors in the community,” Jaclyn and Michelle said.

They will read selections from their mother’s diary at the event.

Pearls of Wisdom will feature keynote remarks by Canadian astronaut Steve MacLean, past president of the Canadian Space Agency (CSA). MacLean, who took part in two space missions, was the second Canadian to perform a spacewalk and the first to operate the Canadarm2.

In the aftermath of the space shuttle Columbia accident in 2003, he was the casualty assistance and calls officer for the late Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon, and has remained a friend to the Ramon family.

MacLean will discuss “pearls of wisdom” he has learned in space, as well cancer research, as some 100 of the CSA’s flights have had a cancer research component.

Award-winning singer/songwriter Amy Sky is also scheduled to perform. Among her offerings will be her rendition of
Kaddish.

According to Mount Sinai Hospital, the groundbreaking Panov Program in Precision Chemotherapy aims to create “precision” or personalized treatment for cancer.

The treatment allows oncologists to graft small pieces of a patient’s tumour into a group of specialized “avatar” mice.

The mice are then tested with different chemotherapy drugs to see which ones work best on that patient’s genetically unique tumour. Doctors can then prescribe the same drug to their cancer patient, boosting the odds that the chemotherapy will work. n

The brunch takes place Sept. 18 beginning at 11 a.m. at Drake One Fifty, 150 York St. Donations can be made at www.supportsinai.ca/pearlsofwisdom.