This is Gertie Barrett’s story. A woman who gave, loved, suffered and triumphed in her sixty odd years of life. The people of Newfoundland and Labrador are well known for their generosity and willingness to help and Gertie Barrett is a fine example of that spirit.
However, what’s special about Gertie is that she gave and loved grandly in the midst of her own hardship.
United Church minister, Arthur Elliot, a lifelong friend and fan summed up Gerties’ life in a sentence. “This is a woman who’s seen a great deal of tragedy in her life and rather than let tragedy overcome her she responded in a very positive way and did something for the community.”
When Gertie describes her life and her marriage to Jellicoe Barrett it sounds special. “I couldn’t have asked for a better life. Our marriage as far as I was concerned was perfect. Now we had our problems and our sorrows and all the rest of it. But it didn’t affect our love for each other.”
Gertie and Jellicoe had three children, two boys and a girl. At a young age her sons were diagnosed with haemophilia. Gertie’s response was to watch over them very carefully and throw her energy into helping other people with the same problem. Her sons survived into adulthood only to die with totally unrelated diseases. Through all of this, Colleen, Gertie’s daughter remembers her mother constantly helping other people. If someone loss their home and belongings in a fire, Gertie was the first one to start raising money to help them. Flood victims in far away countries also felt the generosity of Gertie’s fund raising.
Colleen described her parents as inseparable. Gertie and Jellicoe loved to salmon fish and one of their dreams was to go fishing in Labrador. But before that dream was fulfilled, Jellicoe died.
Now two years later, the woman who always gave to others excepted a gift from her nephew, a fishing trip to Labrador. Land and Sea follows Gertie on her trip as she starts out on life again this time without a husband but with the love and support of other family around her.
