Kaye Moffat, 94
Kaye, 94 years young, has always wished to go to Sable Island. Kaye was born and raised in Sydney River, on Cape Breton Island, and was the oldest of five sisters. She had a thirst for knowledge and possesses an insatiable curiosity and a profound appreciation for learning about Sable Island and its majestic horses. For her, the prospect of witnessing these creatures in their natural habitat is nothing short of a dream come true, and it would provide her with a profound sense of contentment and piece of mind seeing first hand up close how these wild horses are equipped to weather the storms that pass.
In her younger years, Kaye attended teachers’ college and taught one year in Christmas Island before moving to a small city in Boston with her aunt at the young age of 23. Here she met a young man at a local church youth gathering who swept her off her feet doing the Virginia Reel and who made sure she got home safely. This gentleman ended up being from Cape Breton as well and they instantly hit it off. The pair married and lived a life of adventure together as he was a pilot, flying the likes of famous celebrities and government leaders around the world. Unfortunately, their time together was cut short when her husband was in a fatal plane crash at 35 years of age. Kaye’s biggest joys in life were becoming a mother, and then a grandmother. She adopted two children, each one year apart, in Montreal. When her husband had passed, Kaye moved back home to Nova Scotia to be closer to family. As a single mom of two, Kaye returned to school and attended Dalhousie University where, after completing a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Education, went on to receive a Masters in Education before taking a job as a resource teacher for grades one to six. As busy as she was, Kaye always put her children, and her family first. She would take them on adventures and go exploring, activities she still enjoys to this day, making Sable Island that much more appealing to her. On top of enjoying the great outdoors, Kaye is a beautiful painter who has always enjoyed creating representations of the world around her. She is positive, upbeat and enjoys the simple pleasures life has to offer.
Kaye has always done so much for others, never asking for, or expecting, anything in return. She is a bright light to those who get the pleasure of meeting her and it was an honour for us to see her dream finally come true!
Video – New Brooklyn Media and Braevr Media
Photography – Acorn Art & Photography
Special Thanks – Vision Air Services Inc., Parks Canada, and Certainly Cinnamon Catering.
“Being able to see my nan check off one of her bucket list items was truly a wish come true. I couldn’t be more grateful to WAY for making it happen in the perfect way. Thanks to Katie and Cara, it was like she left Sable Island a whole new woman. I’ll never forget landing back in Halifax and Nan walking so tall and steady to the car without her walker. Not only was it a huge physical boost, but mentally it was everything to her (and to all of us!) WAY is doing something unlike I’ve ever seen. Our senior population deserves the very best, and WAY taking the time to make these dreams come true for them really does change lives and make them know that they’re worthwhile.”