Honoured by Marcia & Barry Pond, Bob Dales and Johanne Blais, Kate and Geoff Cudmore and Peter and June Dales.
Jessie Dales / Pond / Runkle (nee Moore)
Jessie was born February 26, 1923 and raised in North Bay. She was the only child of Edgar and Kate Moore, who were early North Bay pioneers. Jessie was a graduate of North Bay Collegiate Vocational Institute and the University of Toronto.
Jessie was a vibrant, strong woman who enjoyed life. She had many life-long friends in North Bay and Sault Ste Marie, who she supported and were supportive of her. Her happy ringing laughter was an easily identified trademark of Jessie. After family, her greatest love was golf. An avid and accomplished golfer, she enjoyed competition and took particular joy in winning the Grandmother’s Cup.
Jessie met and married her first spouse Bob Dales, a Civil Engineer and a keen golfer, at the North Bay Golf Club in 1949. Katie, the eldest of their children is married to Geoffrey Cudmore and they have two children, Peter Cudmore (spouse Sarah and son Damien) and Edgar Cudmore (spouse Paula, children Charlotte and Gregory). The middle child Robert Dales is married to Johanne Blais and they have three children, daughters Laurence and Julia, and son Philippe. Jessie’s youngest, Peter together with June Dales have two children, Lily and Lincoln.
After Bob Dales unfortunate death in an automobile accident in 1961, Jessie raised her young family on her own. Initially she worked as a supply teacher at Widdifield Secondary School, but found her true calling as North Bay’s first female real estate agent – which she excelled at!
Later in North Bay, Jessie met Larry Pond, a young widower, while playing bridge. They subsequently married in 1968 and she fully embraced Larry’s son, Barry as her own. Together with his spouse Marcia, they have two daughters, Erin and Allyson. Jessie and Larry later moved to Sault Ste Marie where Larry started a new career as a secondary school teacher. She enjoyed her time in the Sault meeting new friends, winning golf tournaments, volunteering with Meals-On-Wheels and Telecare, and closing real estate deals.
After Larry’s death in 1980 Jessie returned to North Bay, again a widow.
In later years while wintering in Cape Coral, Florida Jessie met and married Lewis Runkle. They lived in North Bay in the summer and enjoyed their years together travelling, playing golf and visiting friends and family.
Jessie spent the last years of her life living close to her son Bob in Ottawa and her daughter Katie in Belleville Ontario. She died November 15, 2005 and is buried at Terrace Lawn Cemetery in North Bay.