Tarrel Tingley Armstrong
Tarrel and her husband, Bob Armstrong, on cruise, 2012
After graduating in 1964, I spent one more year at MRHS before entering nursing training at the Montreal General Hospital in 1965. On graduation in 1968, not sure what area of nursing I wanted to pursue, I attended Sir George Williams University for one year (the year of the student protest). With an interest in obstetrics, I worked in the nursery at St. Mary’s Hospital from 1969 to the fall of 1970. I then joined other nursing friends at the University of Ottawa to earn my Public Health certificate. Over the next 2 years I took the remaining courses for my BScN.
In 1971, I married Alan Mirabelli who was also from TMR, having attended St Joseph’s Catholic High. We remained in Montreal for 4 years—Alan teaching at Loyola College and I, working for the Victorian Order of Nurses. We moved to Ottawa in 1975 and still loving the home care field, I began working for the VON in Hull, Quebec. VON in Quebec was amalgamated into the CLSC system in 1977. I chose to transfer to the office in Aylmer, 5 miles west of Hull. I was the only anglophile in the office (though all staff spoke English) so my French improved dramatically. I greatly enjoyed my work experience in Aylmer.
Our son Michel was born in 1976. Alan and I divorced in 1981 but have remained close friends since that time, both continuing to live in the Ottawa area. In 1987, I took a position with the CCAC (Community Care Access Centre) in Ottawa, as a Home Care Case Manager working there until 1998.
In 1993, I married Bob Armstrong. Our relationship started over a bridge table after meeting at a singles weekend at Algonquin College. Bob worked in the IT field with DMR Consulting. 1998 was a momentous year for me, as Bob likes to point out—I turned 50, found my birth family (I had been searching for 5 years), retired from 27 years of fulltime work and we moved to England. Bob had taken a 2 month assignment for a joint venture project with DMR and British Gas which turned into 6 wonderful years. We bought a house (the prices were reasonable then) and it more than doubled its value by the time we left in 2004. We lived a ½ hour south of the centre of Birmingham in the Midlands. I joined a North American expat group, the only way to survive in a foreign country. Being a visitor to the UK is one thing, living there is quite another experience. We were definitely ‘the odd couple’ in our neighbourhood. On our return, I worked ½ time at a very busy doctors office as a nurse and retired in March 2008.
It has been a rewarding and fascinating experience to find my birth family. I found them through a search counsellor recommended by Alberta Social Services. My birth parents had married each other and I have 6 siblings. The question of why they gave me up was answered—neither had jobs at the time of my birth (my mother was 18 years old and my father 21). Both came from large families so there are many relatives and interesting stories of pioneer families. I took a 4 day weekend to fly out to meet them a few months before we left for the UK. There were 6 blood relations waiting for me at the Calgary Airport, 12 for dinner that night and 18 the next night. It was a very bizarre feeling meeting so many relatives at one time, many of whom resembled me. My adoptive parents, Anne (died 2001) and Bruce (died 2007) Tingley were very loving and supportive parents and though they accepted my search, it was not easy for them.
One thing I did inherit from my birth parents was Celiac disease—an autoimmune disease in which one cannot tolerate gluten which is found in wheat, barley and rye. I did not have obvious symptoms that ever led me to suspect I was a carrier but it affected my immune system. I had a mild case of polio when I was 8 then was fine until 41 when I developed Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. I was off work for almost 2 years. But it was only in 2006 that the Celiac disease was diagnosed, the contributing factor to so many problems.
My son Michel and his wife Alison live in Ottawa and have 2 children, Ava 2 ½ and Ben 8 months. Bob has 2 sons, Kevin in Ottawa with Emily 9 and Josh 11 and Randy in Vancouver with a 12 year old Midori. It’s great to have most of the grandkids close by.
Tarrel's son, Michel Mirabelli, with his daughter, Ava, and son, Ben
I have only kept in regular contact with Linda Fuller (Grace). We always lived a few provinces apart and though seeing each other infrequently, have kept the friendship alive. I stayed with Linda for 2 days in January on Vancouver Island. It was so great to rekindle the friendship on a face to face level.
Looking back on those high school years, I felt we received an excellent education. When I write a letter I often think about that boring English form and content class (teacher’s name forgotten) but rules of writing have stuck with me. I remember a few embarrassing moments, especially being caught chewing gum more than once by Mr. Marcus and I think having to stand in the corner.
Bob and I stay busy in our retirement. We finally found the time to take a long holiday and spent the month of March in the Algarve, Portugal—a wonderful place. We have a 38’ trailer at a lake near Bon Echo Park, 2 hours west of Ottawa (summer time only). We belong to the Unitarian Church where Bob is a lay chaplain performing outreach for weddings, memorials/funerals and child dedications. I do some volunteer work at the church, work occasionally at the doctors’ office, and have time to connect with old friends. I was very pleasantly surprised to see that Barbara Currie is Barbara Fradkin, one of my favourite mystery writers as I am an avid mystery reader.
It has been a joy to read the bio’s of our classmates. And yes, if there was to be another reunion, I would attend.