Obituary of Ida Annie Sheikh
Ida Sheikh’s measure of success was not through material wealth or professional achievement, but the wonderful family she built with her loving husband of almost 60 years, Aurangzeb.
A devoted wife, caring mother and proud grandmother, Ida left this world peacefully on July 22, 2024, in her 89th year, surrounded by Aurangzeb; her children, Olaf (Deirdre), Farah (Jeff), Fawzia (Kevin) and Fouad (Sandra); and grandchildren Alexander, Liam, Isabella, Athan and Lauren.
Born in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, on July 26, 1935, to Aleixo and Luiza Madeira, Ida was the third of five children, including Tecla, Anthony, Paul and Francis. A member of the Goan expat community in East Africa, Ida spent her youth attending local dances with close friends wearing expertly fashioned, home-sewn dresses. She played field hockey with an amateur women’s team - her younger brother Francis would dutifully carry her finely varnished stick for her to practice matches. And she adored evenings at the family home, especially when the Madeira boys took out assorted musical instruments for an impromptu performance.
Ida went on to meet her future husband while working at Cooper Motors; she was secretary to the manager and he was shop foreman. Aurangzeb worked hard to capture her attention. Many long, breezy drives in his Volkswagen Beetle to a look-out point soaring above the Indian Ocean followed, a welcome get-away where they would talk for hours as the sun slipped from the sky. Their first official date was a screening of Gone with the Wind at the cinema in Dar, and a wedding took place not long afterward.
As post-independence political tensions mounted, Ida and family departed Tanzania in 1967 for Canada, which she often described as the “best country in the world”. Ida gave 26 years of service to the Ontario Government and loved her administrative role at Metropolitan Toronto Housing Authority. In working years and in retirement, she filled her passport with many stamps, from adventures to the United Kingdom, Portugal, India, Gibraltar and Barbados, and cruises to the Panama Canal, Colombia, Aruba, and Turks and Caicos. She also travelled to British Columbia and Quebec, but staying close to home was her happy place.
So much of Ida’s love came through in her kitchen. Teaching her grandchildren to cook her favourite Indian recipes was a particular mission of hers. She was known to prepare extra meals for her adult children too busy with childcare and careers, and for her daughter’s long drive back to the U.S. Never missing weekly Mass, she would then make Sunday morning special for everyone with her chapatis – even giving her goddaughter Luiza a special pan to make them – along with a feast of savoury treats.
Not surprisingly, holidays with the family were the high point of the year for her, complete with all of the December rituals. With the Sound of Music playing in the background, she adorned the house with colour and glitter, painstakingly baking all of her Christmas sweets from back home, and never missing midnight phone calls to her brothers in the U.K.
In the spring, Ida’s flower garden was the first to greet visitors. Stunning tulips standing gracefully in the morning light were a source of pride, or sometimes hydrangeas, daisies and echinacea. She was fond of bougainvillea, perhaps because it reminded her of growing up. She would occupy her days with crossword puzzles and word games at the breakfast table, sipping morning coffee with Aurangzeb; and leisurely sit on her backyard deck in the summer, reading a novel or staying connected with old classmates and work friends on Facebook.
In her final days, Ida made sure her family knew that she had led a “long and beautiful life”. May she now find rest and comfort in the company of her beloved Mama and Papa and dear sister, Tecla. She will forever be missed by all who loved and cherished her – more than she will ever know.
Ida’s family would appreciate donations to Diabetes Canada, a cause dear to her heart, in lieu of flowers.
A visitation will be held on Sunday, July 28, 2024 from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. at Ogden Funeral Home, 4164 Sheppard Avenue East, Scarborough. The Funeral Mass will take place on Monday, July 29, 2024 at 10:00 a.m. at St. Thomas More Parish, 1 Dormington Drive, Scarborough. Interment will follow at Christ the King Catholic Cemetery, 7770 Steeles Avenue East, Markham (entrance on Reesor Road).
