BARRHEAD - Cecile Martin is a name familiar to many Barrhead area residents.
And for those who aren’t familiar with her good works in the community, her family is holding a July 22 public get-together at the park named in her honour.
Cecile Martin, who passed away in 1980 from breast cancer at the age of 36, was an active member of Barrhead’s arts community through the Barrhead Community Theatre, playing a starring role in many of its productions.
In addition to her work at the community theatre, Cecile fundraised for improvements to the park.
Shortly after her passing, Barrhead resident Wilma Thompson urged Town of Barrhead councillors to name Barr Manor Park after her due to her fundraising efforts to build a children’s playground in the park.
“Our family lived for many years across the street from the park. It was a big part of our lives,” said Cecile’s daughter Michelle Martin.
She still vividly remembers the day the swings were added to the park.
“My high school friends and I went on to the swing-set ... we stayed there until the sun went down. It was just joyous,” she said.
Michelle is one of five children Cecile and her husband Richard had.
She and her other siblings Caroline, Jacquie, Paul and Monique, along with their father, will be at the July 22 event to mark the 41st anniversary of the park’s renaming.
Michelle, who lives in Vancouver, was 12 when her mother passed away.
The Martins moved to Barrhead in 1970. At the time, they had three children, Caroline, Michelle and Jacquie. Paul and Monique were born in Barrhead.
Her father was the principal at then Lorne Jenken High School. Cecile was also a teacher, but when the Martins moved to Barrhead, she opted to stay-at-home home with the children, teaching French at night.
In Barrhead, she got involved with the community theatre, though “involved” is understating it, Michelle said.
“She was a big presence at the Barrhead Community Theatre. She always loved it,” she said.
Michelle added that her mother was very musical and had a wonderful singing voice and thus gravitated to parts in musicals.
In her first production, she played the female lead in Blithe Spirit, followed by Annie Get Your Gun, The Sound of Music and Irma la Douce.
It was after her last role, in Irma la Douce, that Cecile discovered she was ill.
“At the end of the play, she had a sore back. At first, she thought she had hurt it during one of the dance numbers,” Michelle said.
Originally, the family had planned to mark the 40th anniversary in 2020, but they decided to postpone it due to COVID-19.
“We want Barrhead residents and the people who frequent the park to know that she was our mother and was adored,” Michelle said. “We also want to help solidify her presence there because it means the world to us ... we are honoured that the town chose to recognize my mother and her contributions in this way.”
