After cycling several hundred kilometres over three months, on an island close to Montreal, Jason Ellis and his wife Marilyne spotted a beautiful pink magnolia tree in full bloom. It was the same tree that Jason’s late grandmother had outside of her home in Guelph, and it was a painful but important moment for the couple to reflect on their shared grief.
“It was very emotional … at the end of this big ride, we saw this tree and we knew that she was with us the whole time,” said Marilyne.
Back in May, the Ellises embarked on a 1,940 kilometre bicycle journey throughout Ontario and Quebec in memory of Katherina ‘Katie’ Ellis, who passed away on March 30 of Alzheimer’s disease. Unable to hold a formal celebration of life due to the pandemic, the couple started their Wheels of Strength 1940 bicycling challenge to raise money and awareness of gender equality for the Canadian Women’s Foundation. They aim to finish their journey by September 13, which would have been Katie’s 80th birthday.
“My grandmother was a very special woman,” said Jason, who calls her Oma. “She was a massive adventurer. She always called herself a ‘seenager’ because she was a senior, but she was also a teenager in many ways. I love that term because I think it really represents the mentality that she had.”
Katie Ellis was a long-time resident of Guelph with deep ties to the community and the university. Born in Germany, she moved to Canada in 1959 at the age of 19 with a desire to explore the world.
She met her husband John shortly after her arrival, and the couple moved around several times between Manitoba and southern Ontario, while Katie worked as an executive in the printing industry. After John passed away of Alzheimer’s disease in 2002, Katie moved to Guelph to fulfill her dream of pursuing higher education. She enrolled in a Bachelor of Arts at the age of 65, and went on to complete her Master’s degree in English in 2014.
“You don’t see many people in their sixties and seventies get Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees, let alone working at a time when many women didn’t in the 1950s and 60s. She did a lot that was really out of the norm and she was a huge inspiration,” said Jason, adding that his Oma enrolled in a second Bachelor’s degree program, but was unable to complete it due to her own advancing Alzheimer’s.
“Our goal with this challenge, outside of the fundraising effort, is to share that other women can do that, no matter what age, where you come from or who you are,” he said.
Marilyne adds that they chose to raise money for the CWF because gender equality was important to Katie, and something she advocated for and embodied throughout her life.
“She was such a powerful woman and Alzheimer’s did not define her. We wanted to fund an organization that better reflected who she was and what she did throughout her life.”
It’s not the first time the couple has cycled long distances in honour of a loved one. Both Jason and Marilyne lost their mothers to breast cancer, and in 2015 and 2016, they completed a round-trip journey from Quebec City to Toronto to raise money for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation. Marilyne recalls arriving in Toronto after the gruelling 800-kilometre ride, where Katie – whom she also lovingly refers to as Oma – was the last one waiting for them.
“She arrived very early on that day to make sure she wouldn’t miss us. She waited all day at Princess Margaret Hospital with a photo of us, showing people what we were doing,” she said.
Marilyne was very close to Jason’s grandmother, and the couple spent a few summers as students living in the basement of her South End home in Guelph. After he lost his mother at 23 years old, Jason says his Oma was a huge support system for him.
“She was a rock and an anchor to me in many ways. She helped to lay down the tracks for me to focus on certain things, especially with finishing school.”
The couple now lives in Chute-à-Blondeau in eastern Ontario, but they still have deep ties to the local community, where Katie has left behind many friends and connections through the university.
“I always used to joke around and say Oma would become the Mayor of Guelph one day,” said Jason. “She loved the city - the Farmers' Market especially. And she was a huge part of the university community.”
Since May, the couple has ventured out on almost-daily bike rides on weekends and after work. They have cycled over 1200 kilometres to date in hot weather and strong winds, pushing through physical and emotional pain.
“I think if she was here today, she would be incredibly proud,” said Jason.
They are well on their way to completing their challenge by Sept. 13, and they plan on commemorating the day after a short final ride with a glass of wine by the water. As soon as pandemic restrictions are lifted, they hope to bring together family from the UK, Germany and across Canada to celebrate the life of an inspirational and loved woman.
Jason and Marilyne have been posting regular updates on their Facebook page, along with links to their fundraising campaign. All proceeds will go towards the Canadian Women’s Foundation Tireless Together fund, a national emergency fund to provide support to vulnerable women and girls during the COVID-19 crisis.
“This is about helping people to know that they can achieve greatness as well,” said Jason. “Oma was a huge advocate of that, and that’s the message that we want to get across.”
