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Patricia Raymaker.

Patricia Claire Raymaker Wife. Mother. Health-care advocate. Adventurer. Born Feb. 21, 1944, in Calgary; died Feb. 12, 2017, in Calgary; of cancer-related illness; aged 72.

Patricia Raymaker's greatest gift to her kids was a backbone. She was fierce, kind and passionate, but not intimidating, soft or naive.

Born Patricia Walsh, Mom and her three siblings grew up in Canadian Forces Base Calgary, where her father served while her mother worked as a nurse. The Walsh family took no guff and Mom was no different, but she was always ready to stand up for others, too.

She was always up for a gambit, such as the 1959 Palace Theatre Twist Dance Championship, which she entered on a lark and took second place.

At 17, Mom enrolled in Calgary's Holy Cross Hospital School of Nursing and became a registered nurse. Her career took her to the margins of society, where she cared for the mentally ill, impoverished and addicted. She was a confident, caring nurse, but she would find her true calling as an advocate and political activist.

In 1965, she married Calgary lawyer Darryl Raymaker, beginning a 52-year love affair that took them around the world and brought three children: Derek, Patrick and Nicole.

Dad embarked on a Quixotic quest to get elected as a Liberal in Alberta. Lucky for him, Mom was up for the challenge, too, as his manager and organizer. While Dad's four campaigns were never victorious, they were always successful in other ways: parties, laughs and new friends.

Mom came into her own as a political activist. She was a breath of fresh air in the stuffy backrooms: A woman who actually got things done and put blustery male egos in their place.

Mom's leadership and passion established her as a leading health-care advocate, working on behalf of the disabled, brain-injury sufferers, seniors and abused women. From 1995 to 2003, Mom served as a director and chair of the National Advisory Council on Aging, where she helped seniors live more independent lives and advocate for themselves.

Her biggest battle set her against Alberta's Ralph Klein government and its health-care privatization campaign in the early 1990s. As a Calgary District Hospital Group director, she rallied patients, nurses, doctors and others to save two hospitals. They rescued one, but she was devastated that they could not save her beloved Holy Cross, where she trained.

She always had her radar tuned for justice denied, and was not intimidated by anything. That included the Soviet Union.

In 1979, Mom took me and my brother on an eight-day transatlantic sailing on the Aleksandr Pushkin, a Soviet-operated passenger vessel. Many passengers were clearly members of the Soviet elite and KGB. There were also a lot of kids but not much to do, even though a swimming pool sat empty, mocking children who longed for a splash (and parents who longed for a respite).

Mom sprang into action. She formed a parent coalition – including sheepish Russians who probably wondered if this would end in Siberia for them – to lobby the stern Soviet purser to fill the pool with seawater.

The purser and Mom were locked in a day-long struggle: the Atlantic Parent Uprising. He ignored, threatened and bribed her. But she would not budge. The uprising spread. The only solution was to fill the pool. Victory! Mom spent the rest of the voyage toasted by grateful parents.

Mom fought the tough battles that needed to be fought, but she did it with a smile. Her great talent was to inspire others to fight alongside her. She made all those around her stronger, kinder and grateful to be near her.

Derek Raymaker is Patricia's son.

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