Mom's Eulogy

Inta Ridler January 30, 1939 - June 28, 2013 

written by Jason Ridler 

Inta Mezgailis Ridler, age seventy-four, died at approximately nine pm on 28 June 2013 in her Toronto home, surrounded by her children. Daughter of Olga Katerina Dailacis and Janis Arturs Mezgailis (m.1937), Inta was born in Jelgava, Latvia, on 30 January 1939, followed by her sister Laima (Sellmer). After surviving the Second World War, Olga and her two daughters lived in a displaced persons camp in Germany before voyaging to Canada in 1948. Initially raised in Windsor, Inta and her family moved to Toronto in the early 1950s, where she attended Jarvis Collegiate. She later received her Bachelors degree and her Masters in Psychology at the University of Toronto. Married to Jim Ridler in 1963 (-1984), she was the beloved mother of Jamie, Robbie (d.1973), Suzie, Jason and Shannon.

She began a life journey into the arts in the late 1980s, graduating from the Ontario College of Art and Design in late 1990s. She became an integral member of the Kensington Market art and music scene, making friends in many circles, from punk rock guitarists to shamanic drummers. She was also the co-founder, photographer, creative director, and layout artist of The Spirit of Kensington magazine and in 1999 was their featured artist. She was a long time member of the Toronto Camera Club and was an instrumental member of their photography magazine Focus.

Inta was a perpetual student of philosophy, science, and the spiritual arts, as well as a beautiful voice in many choirs that sang from downtown Toronto to her land of birth, Latvia. A career explorer and enjoyer of knowledge, ideas and music, a lover of food and chats and joy, she is survived by her sister and children, and leaves behind a legacy of art, inspiration and unconditional love to all who knew her.