Miette Cape

Miette Cape April 19, 1919 - December 20, 2013

Mina Cape, whom everyone called Miette, passed away at the end of December to join her Scottish husband after a quarter century of widowhood. She had spent twenty-five years in the retirement home of Petit-Saconnex.

A few friends and cousins from Bern and Zurich gathered at the end of December in the chapel of the institution to honor her memory. Several members of the nursing staff were present and spoke of their thoughts about this unusual resident whom they had cared for for many years. Here is what they said: We called her Miss Cape. She knew how to say thank you for anything she did to help her, right up until the end. She was always smiling. But she also knew how to say no when something was done wrong. She was open to every possible moment of dialogue and held on to life. She wanted to communicate. For us, she was a ray of sunshine.

Other people, as well as Pastor Jean Piguet who presided over the ceremony, emphasized how much Miette insisted on living by faith, without pay. This did not prevent her from being generous.

Eliane Stallybrass told of receiving a computer from Miette who had just received a small inheritance! With Ian, her husband, Miette gave a lot by inviting many personalities to their Geneva home. In particular, delegates to ILO (International Labor Organization) conferences. In the midst of the Cold War, the Geneva correspondent of the Tass agency did not hesitate to accept Miette and Ian's dinner invitation: "We did not judge him," Miette recalled, "nor did we criticize his philosophy of life in society.

It reminded us of our stays in Sesto San Giovanni (Italy), when we met with communist activists in the region. How do you pass on such convictions? The Cape couple played their part by piloting from an office in Geneva the worldwide distribution of the illustrated journal Moral Rearmament, published in six languages, including Japanese and Bengali. Pastor Jean Piguet blessed the marriage of Ian and Miette Cape in the Protestant chapel in Caux on May 14, 1950. It was to him that Miette insisted on having her funeral service blessed.