Over thirty-five years ago, Janet Merry, a longtime resident of Annapolis Valley’s beautiful and restful village of Lawrencetown, was hit by the curling bug, becoming a member in 1953 of the Bridgetown club. In the years to follow, her name became synonymous with the sport, both as a player and builder.

First elected to the local executive in 1959, she served as President of the Ladies Division from 1965 to 1967. Soon becoming interested in mixed competition, she took on the responsibilities as chairperson of the Mixed Curling League for a ten-year period, beginning in 1955. Concomitant tasks assumed during this era included work on such committees as match, ways and means and social.

In the early seventies, this Valley native — who had become a very competent performer in her own right and who was destined to compete in ten provincial playdowns and a couple of Senior Ladies finals — became highly involved in organization at a provincial level. In 1967 she was elected second vice-president of the Nova Scotia Ladies Curling Association; in 1971 she became the president of the provincial body. In 1973 Merry functioned as vice-chairperson of the Provincial Senior Ladies Championship. Ten years later, she took full responsibility of the same event, fittingly enough held at the Bridgetown Club.

Highly respected by her peers, Janet soon became more and more occupied with the sport, being called upon to represent fellow curlers at the national level. In the years 1970-71 and 1974, she was Nova Scotia’s observer at the Canadian Ladies Curling Association Council. For two years, as well, she served as the provincial delegate to the parent body’s council. In 1971, she travelled to Ottawa as Nova Scotia’s delegate to the first Canadian Senior Ladies’ Curling Championship.

By the mid-seventies Merry’s reputation as a builder in the sport had developed to the national level, resulting in her election to the Canadian Ladies Curling Association in 1975 as second vice-president. A couple of years later, she was chosen as the organization’s leader. In this period of time as well she served as junior consultant to the Canadian Girls Championship and senior advisor to the Canadian Senior Ladies finals held in Grand Falls, Newfoundland and Charlottetown, P.E.I., respectively.

Somehow, during this hectic period, Janet found time to serve on the selection committee to hire an Executive Director for Curling in Canada, as a member of the First Advisory Board to establish the Curl Canada office in Ottawa, and as a representative on the Curling Hall of Fame Committee.

Extensive travel for the sport became part of the Merry menu. While serving for a couple of years on an ad hoc International Curling Committee, she attended meetings in Scotland, Sweden, United States and various parts of Canada. As the first female to be appointed to the Seagram Mixed Curling Policy Committee, she travelled to view championship play in Saskatoon, Prince George and St. John’s.

Just as curling occupies so much of her time during the winter months, lawn bowling is her passion during summer. Being a member of the highly successful Bridgetown Club, she represented the province at the ’75 Canadian Lawn Bowling Championship as a part of the triples team. At the organizational level, she was Match Chairperson of the Nova Scotia Ladies Lawn Bowling Association from 1984 to 1986 and the national organization’s first vice-president in 1986.

Duly-merited recognition came to this versatile lady when, in 1977, she was awarded the Queen’s Silver Jubilee Medal for outstanding contribution to amateur sport and, in 1979, when presented the Sport Nova Scotia service award for curling. On March 10, 1983, in Sudbury, Ontario, Janet was inducted, as a builder, into the Canadian Curling Hall of Fame — indeed, her shining hour!

Merry was an accomplished curler herself, competing in ten provincial playdowns, and a couple of senior ladies’ finals.

Janet passed away on August 17th, 2014.

Bio Courtesy of Burton Russell