Mai Kreem passed away yesterday, July 20th, 2022. She was 98 years old. She is best remembered in the Toronto Estonian community as a tireless promoter and organizer of swimming competitions and swimming related events. Countless campers have learned to swim under her firm guidance at Jõekääru.

I have just learned of her passing.
At the grand age of 98.
NINETY EIGHT.
Was it all that swimming or good Estonian genes?
I take pause.

I swim everyday of my life or have tried to.
Good medicine.
To move one’s body in that medium of semi-antigravity.
Is it because of her?
Pretty much.

Pr. Kreem, was an original, a one-off.
A truly authentic Estonian. All things good about being Estonian.
Her energy and enthusiasm was a force to be reckoned with
on the grounds of Jõekääru Children’s summer camp.
In her signature summer hat with drawstrings, the clipboard, the bronze tan
in any number and design of swimsuits, it was the purpose of her movement on terra firma.
She did not walk, she marched with determination and direction.
Her example continues to inspire those who remember.
Pr. Kreem did not need a megaphone at the vöistlused.

All us campers, we were children of everyone’s concern- the love, at least that’s how I felt.
We grew up amongst those first kasvatajad (good word, it takes a village etc.)
We learned about discipline, practice, learning to lose and then get back into it.
To a skinny little child trying to warm up in a tepid saun was minor discomfort given what was at stake: the idea of a Red Cross badge held in the balance.
If you could muster to descend into the “tume vesi” of Black River and execute the duck dive into and then out of black oblivion, was it worth it - those many embedded life lessons?
Yes. All of it.

Thank you Pr. Kreem.
God Speed.


Rita E. Komendant
Thunder Bay
July 21, 2022

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