Jessica Chang
Meeting Madame Molly
Upon first meeting Molly, I was struck by how formidable she seemed. You see, Molly walks with an air of having seen it all and done it all. Her very presence demands your attention. Since I’m a young woman who lives a sheltered university life, I shook her hand and wondered how we were going to connect. We seemed worlds apart – and in truth we are generations apart. To my great surprise, the formidable Madame Molly turned out to a jovial, charming woman.
As our conversation progressed, it became clear that my initial impression of having just met a woman who has lived a full life turned out to be unquestionably true.
While Molly grew up in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Molly has since lived in 5/10 of the Canadian Provinces: Manitoba, Ontario, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and finally British Columbia, where Molly has lived for 46 years now.
The Biggest Influence on Molly’s Life: Maternal Altruism
“The biggest influence on my life would be my mother. We didn’t ever exchange angry words — we never had a disagreement. I was always my mother’s girl and my sister was my father’s. We always had a perfect relationship. She was really kind. She just cared about people in general. Somebody in the neighborhood was having a problem of sorts she would go and help out. She didn’t have any enemies. That was a great influence on my life.”
December 1957
“I was living in Calgary and starting on Dec 2, we rented a house and seven of us [twenty year old girls] lived there and we just had a blast. We knew how to party.”
Surprisingly, this roomie situation was the spark that lit Molly’s first marriage. On December 22nd her boyfriend had popped over for a visit, took one look at the place, and decided he needed to take a stand.
He then proclaimed “I’m going to lose you if you don’t come home with me. We’re going to get married right now,” and they got married January 11th 1958. Together they had a daughter and divorced a year thereafter.
“God helps those who help themselves. Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass, it’s about learning to dance in the rain.” – Molly’s favourite quote
With her daughter, Molly moved to Winnipeg where she re-married. Sadly, her first daughter only lived to be six and a half years of age when a fatal pedestrian accident took her first daughter’s life on April 4th 1962. Soon after, Molly moved to BC.
Her second marriage ended in 1970 but gave Molly four other children. Molly’s parenting philosophy stems from that of her mother’s: “My relationship with my children stems from love and respect.” Accordingly, there are zero fights in Madame Molly’s household. Moreover, Molly’s children don’t swear or allow their friends to swear in her company.
As Molly’s sister likes to joke, “her kids seem to think she’s a saint!”
Eventually, Molly’s experiences brought her to Vancouver Community College where she earned the necessary qualifications to work as a divorce recovery counsellor. From 1992-1994, Molly worked hard and obtained a stellar GPA. Pictured below is Molly’s transcript.
For more information on Molly’s workshops that help people make the transition from divorce to singlehood please refer to these articles by the New Westminster Record and the Burnaby Newsleader.
On The Importance of Friendship
“I try to keep in contact with all my former people – I always think that the people who were important to you in the past should be important today. I’ve always kept my friends for the long run.
So, I have a pretty big phone bill”.
