On Saturday, February 13th at 7:30 am, the curtain fell for the last time on our dear friend, super-talented singer-actress,
ROMA HEARN. Born and raised in Vancouver, she started her musical career at a very early age when she was accepted as a member of the B.C. Music Teachers Assoc. Audition Guild in 1944. Roma joined Theatre Under the Stars in 1952 and in 1962 had a starring role in the musical Wonderful Town, to be followed by the lead in Little Mary Sunshine and later, in Gypsy, stealing the show as the stripper Mazeppa, with her Gotta Have a Gimmick number. Roma starred in many shows, The Most Happy Fella and Oliver for Vancouver Festival and Man of La Mancha for the Vancouver Opera. In the 1960’s, she co-starred in the CBC variety show Some of These Days. She appeared in many musicals – The Fantastics, I Do!, I Do!, Hello Dolly and Gypsy. She toured across Canada for many years with Spring Thaw and spent many seasons with the Charlottetown Festival –starring in Anne of Green Gables and Ballade.
In 1980, Roma went on an ocean cruise, where she met the ship’s Doctor – Jorgen Olrik. They married and lived in Sweden for 23 years. She performed occasionally with the Gothenberg Symphony. Roma and Jorgen took up square dancing and entered many competitions. Jorgen would save up his holidays and would spend them as the doctor on cruise ships. He and Roma as the ship’s doctor’s wife saw many parts of the world. Her passion for boat cruises never ended and every couple of years she would go on one or two month cruises. She loved the ocean voyages.
On March 6, 1996 Roma was inducted into the B.C. Entertainment Hall of Fame and has a Star on Granville Street’s STARWALK.
After Jorgen died in 2003 and Roma moved back to Vancouver, she took up residence in the Performing Arts Lodge, where she lived until she had to go into palliative care at St. John’s Hospice at the University of B.C. due to terminal cancer. The last show Roma appeared in was Follies in 2010.
She will be greatly missed by numerous friends. A great big thank you to the wonderful care givers at St. John’s Hospice at UBC who came under Roma’s charm and made her final months so comfortable.
In lieu of flowers a donation to the Vancouver SPCA would be appreciated.