Mary’s Gift

Mary’s Gift

No, we don’t mean that Mary.  We mean Mary Naidu, who attended the Anglican Women’s Training College (now the Centre for Christian Studies) in the early 60s. Very recently, CCS received a generous bequest from the estate of Mary Naidu, and for that, we are very grateful.  But we don’t know a lot about Mary’s life after attending AWTC.

We know that Mary was born in Hong Kong in 1929 and died in Victoria, BC in 2020.  She was the daughter of Pala Dara Raj Naidu, a medical doctor, and Lam Pai Naidu, a midwife, and lived with her parents and 3 siblings above the clinic run by her parents in Hong Kong.

Mary was baptized and confirmed in the Anglican Church. From the late 40s to the mid-50s, Mary studied and worked in London, England. She then moved to Canada and lived for a time in Kingston, Ontario.  In early 1960, Mary applied to the Woman’s Auxiliary of the Anglican Church of Canada and attended the Anglican Women’s Training College in Toronto from 1961 to 1962. Her intent at that time was to make church work her vocation.

Mary divided her time between Hong Kong and Victoria.  From correspondence with CCS staff in the early 2000s, we learned that she felt she had put her training to good use. But we don’t know much about how she used her training. If you knew Mary, or know more about her, we would love to hear from you, and to add some information to our archives.  You can contact CCS at office@ccsonline.ca or 204-417-8636, ext. 20.

Mary Naidu, 1929-2020