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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Mary Hamilton's roots were planted in Yellowknife from the time her family stepped foot on shore after a long journey up the Peace River, Alta, in 1939.

It's where she built a life, and it's where her life ended last week.

Mary Hamilton, who was one of Yellowknife's first non-aboriginal settlers, died last week. She was 85. - photo courtesy of the Hamilton family

Hamilton died on April 17 after complications from a brain tumour. She was 85 years old.

Born Mary Weber, Hamilton arrived in Yellowknife on a homemade barge along with her mother, father brothers and sisters - even laying hens, a cat and kittens were on board. The boat was powered by a Ford Model T engine.

They had left their farm near Peace River because her father heard there was work in Yellowknife.

"They were pioneering people and this was just part of their nature," said Hamilton's daughter, Elva Matsuno.

It took the family 11 days of travelling through the Peace and Slave river systems to arrive, and they used the dismantled barge to build a shack.

Hamilton was 16 at that point, and it wasn't long before she met the love of her life - Red Hamilton.

"He was considerably older than Mom," said Matsuno, who now lives in Sydney, B.C. "They ended up eloping in Hay River."

Hamilton was 18 when she had her first child, Delbert.

"I was the third white child born in Yellowknife," said Delbert. "And Dr. Ollie Stanton was the doctor."

The young family moved to B.C. during the Second World War, where Red found work at a Boeing plant, and later as a commercial fisherman. It's where their next two children, Elva and Sandy, were born.

By 1951, the Hamiltons returned to Yellowknife - where Red had arrived first to find work at the Giant Mine.

Delbert said he still remembers his father meeting his family at the dock on July 1 at 7 a.m.

"We came North after school got out," he said. "Sandy and I both had the measles."

They settled on Morrison Drive, and Hamilton's industrious nature shone through.

"She just loved to grow things," remembered Matsuno. She would start flowers and vegetables from seed indoors in early spring, and gather black dirt from rock crevasses for fertile soil.

"One year she grew wheat, flax, oats and barley - just to prove a point," Delbert said.

She also had a knack for berry-picking and making jams. On family camping trips, they'd pick piles of blackberries, raspberries and gooseberries.

"We'd be gone for two weeks and never see a soul," Matsuno said.

Hamilton's children also remember how much their mother loved to bake and entertain guests.

"Every evening at 9 o'clock was coffee time, and you could guarantee there would be fresh buns or an apple pie," Delbert said.

"It didn't matter who they were - they were welcome," Matsuno added.

"The sense of community was strong because this is where we lived," said Ray Weber, Hamilton's younger brother.

As Red's health declined in the late 1960s, Hamilton began working outside the home. She had jobs at the Co-op, the hardware store and the women's prison, to name a few.

When Red died of a heart attack in 1970, she was heartbroken.

"She never married again, so that tells you something," Matsuno said.

Yet, her community involvement never waned. She sang in the Anglican church choir and was a member of the church ladies' auxiliary.

She would knit baby booties and sweaters for newborns whose parents couldn't afford new clothes. And every grandchild owns at least one sweater knitted by Hamilton.

She also became well-known for her homemade wine, said son Sandy Hamilton, of Yellowknife.

"There were parties here to sample that wine," he said with a grin.

"She was very social and liked being with people," Matsuno said.

It was all a network that made it too difficult to leave the Northern town she called home.

A few years ago, she tried moving to B.C. to be closer to her daughter.

"She got desperately homesick and came back," she said. "You can't transplant an old oak tree. The roots are too deep."