‘Saying goodbye to a legacy’: Laura Daye, N.S. matriarch and widow of Buddy Daye, dies at 90
Global News
Laura Daye, a valued community member, matriarch, and the widow of professional boxer and African Nova Scotian activist Delmore 'Buddy' Daye, passed away on Monday.
Laura Daye, a valued community member, matriarch, and the widow of professional boxer and African Nova Scotian activist Delmore “Buddy” Daye, has died at the age of 90.
The former teacher and mother of nine passed away from natural causes in a Halifax-area hospital on Monday.
“It’s kind of like saying goodbye to a legacy,” said Leslie Daye, the couple’s daughter, in an interview.
Laura was born and raised in Digby County, which is where she first met Buddy while he was there for a visit decades ago.
“The story is that mom told daddy when she was a little girl, ‘I’m going to marry you one day, Buddy Daye,’” said Leslie, adding with a laugh: “Mom staked her claim a long time ago.”
Laura was the youngest of 17 children and her mother died when she was just a toddler.
“Mom always had a certain sadness and a certain longing for a mother’s love, because she was only two when her birth mother passed,” said Leslie, who added that a silver lining of her death is that she “finally gets to meet her mother.”
Any love Laura lost from not knowing her own mother was bestowed upon her own nine children, said Leslie.