Waterloo Region Generations
A record of the people of Waterloo Region, Ontario.

Lucinda "Cindy" Martin

Female 1921 - 2017  (96 years)


Personal Information    |    Notes    |    Event Map    |    All    |    PDF

  • Name Lucinda "Cindy" Martin 
    Born 25 Sep 1921  Yatton, Peel Twp., Mapleton Township Wellington Co., Ontario Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Gender Female 
    Name Lucinda "Cindy" Bolger 
    Eby ID Number Waterloo-192982 
    Died 6 Dec 2017 
    Person ID I192982  Generations
    Last Modified 25 Apr 2024 

    Father Nelson Martin,   b. 22 Feb 1889, Peel Twp., Wellington Co., Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 27 Oct 1954, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 65 years) 
    Mother Mary Ann Westfall,   b. 15 Nov 1897, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 15 Apr 1997, Elmira, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 99 years) 
    Family ID F36566  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family Lorne Bolger,   b. 20 Apr 1925,   d. 18 Apr 2017, Waterloo City, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 91 years) 
    Children 
     1. Jim Bolger
     2. Paul Bolger
    Last Modified 26 Apr 2024 
    Family ID F54719  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  • Notes 
    • LIFETIMES: From Old Order Mennonite to nursing instructor, Cindy Bolger broke a lot of moulds
      Lucinda (Cindy) Bolger of Waterloo, born: Sept. 25, 1921, in Yatton, Ont., died: Dec. 6, 2017, of age-related illness

      Cindy Martin was only 12 years old when she left home to work as a mother's helper, where the jobs usually entailed assisting a pregnant mother around the time of birth. These were all temporary positions and it would soon be time to move on, a total of 40 different households before something stirred in Cindy, something that made her decide to make more of her life.

      Born the eldest of six into an Old Order Mennonite family in Yatton, in rural Waterloo near Elmira, expectations for the child were limited by her upbringing.

      Cindy wrote in her memoir how her parents thought she might possibly complete Grade 8 but they knew with certainly she would end up being a "submissive wife" with a whole passel of kids.

      Cindy had seen her fair share of Mennonite women on the farm, working hard, raising families. She was having none of it and surprisingly, her parents supported their head strong, determined daughter. Cindy would eventually become a nurse and nursing instructor as well as a bit of a mother hen to dozens of student nurses at what was then called Kitchener-Waterloo Hospital School of Nursing.

      Cindy's rise to this position came after years of struggle.

      In his eulogy, oldest son Jim Bolger recalled how his mother's early days were shadowed by extreme poverty.

      "Many would describe her family as 'poor Nelson Martin's family' often dependent on others for food and money," he said.....

      Hill, V. (2017). LIFETIMES: From Old Order Mennonite to nursing instructor, Cindy Bolger broke a lot of moulds. TheRecord.com. Retrieved 18 December 2017, from https://www.therecord.com/living-story/8001842-lifetimes-from-old-order-mennonite-to-nursing-instructor-cindy-bolger-broke-a-lot-of-moulds/

  • Event Map
    Link to Google MapsBorn - 25 Sep 1921 - Yatton, Peel Twp., Mapleton Township Wellington Co., Ontario Link to Google Earth
     = Link to Google Earth