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Feb 27, 1945 – Mar 04, 2023
Ilma Maria Lynton Holt
Ilma Maria Lynton Holt was born on February 27, 1945 and died on March 4, 2023.
She was born in Panama City, Panama, to carribean (Jamaica and Barbados) parents, was first generation Panamanian on the maternal side, second generation Panamanian on the paternal side, and grew up in the city of Colòn. She was a concert pianist as a child, winning national and international acclaim, and went on to study music at the University of Oregon with a scholarship. She was active in the international students union and in the volatile civil rights movement in the United States in the early mid sixties. She switched majors (and forfeited her scholarship) to study political science. She married a white man, Gary Coldevin (at the time it was still illegal in several states to do so), and the two of them moved to Montreal, Quebec, Canada to start a family in 1970. The October crisis, general strike of ’71, unprecedented blizzard (storm of the century!) were some of the highlights of her first years in Canada. She lived in the U.S., India, Kenya, Panama, and travelled to Europe, but loved Canada, and especially Montreal, Toronto, and then Ottawa which she called home. A fiercely independent person, she filed for a divorce in 1979, and subsequently raised her two daughters on her own. Among her other accomplishments: She completed her Masters degree in political science at McGill university, practiced Shotokan Karate for 10 years, she continued playing and arranging/writing music, she was a stock broker, an administrator, Executive Director of the Negro Community center in Montreal, lifelong student, and Program Manager with Heritage Canada (before she retired). She was a passionate woman, quick to laugh and quick to anger, elegant, glamorous, an incredible storyteller, charismatic, intelligent, and resilient. She introduced us to science fiction, and a love of the arts. She was at home anywhere, from safari on the serengeti to the local pub. She enjoyed pride parades, caribana, all kinds of music, she loved to dance, and celebrate life. She made all of our holidays special, Christmas, birthdays, she made us feel that it was important to have fun. She spoke English, Spanish, French, Italian and Swahili. She was a trailblazer, a wonderful spirit. She suffered from mental health issues, more predominantly in her latter years, with both a physical and a rare mental/cerebral decline resulting in dementia, caused by MS. She lived for the last ten years of her life in a long term care facility with the loving support of her youngest daughter Natasha. In her final days she was surrounded by her two daughters, with music and laughter and love. She died peacefully in her sleep. She is survived by her daughters, Alezandria and Natasha Coldevin, her grandson Devin Bristow Coldevin and her sisters Patricia and Alida Lynton.
2023
Death notice for the town of: Ottawa, Province: Ontario
death notice Ilma Maria Lynton Holt
obituaries notice Ilma Maria Lynton Holt
We offer our deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Ilma Maria Lynton Holt and hope that their memory may be a source of comfort during this difficult time. Your thoughts and kind words are greatly appreciated.
