Mrs. Mead was the mother of Kathleen Mead. A student who attended Degrassi Junior High from September 1987 until June 1989 and then later on Degrassi High from September 1989 until June 1991. She was a struggling, and hopeless alcoholic.
Character History
Original Degrassi: Season 2
Mrs. Mead was first shown in the episode Bottled Up. Her daughter Kathleen came home from school to tell her that she had made the school's trivia team for Quest for the Best. To her dismay, Kathleen found that her mother was hungover from drinking all day. A few moments later, Mr. Mead called. Kathleen answered it, and covered for her mother by saying she wasn't home. A few days later, Kathleen was forced to invite her friends over to study for Quest for the Best. Mrs. Mead found them watching old tapes of the show and tried to join in with them. However, she was drunk and kept falling into things, which made Kathleen's friends feel awkward so they went home.
A few nights later she promised Kathleen over the phone that she would attend the game show that evening, and would bring her school sweater which had been forgotten at home. She then got drunk and forgot about the game show taping. When Kathleen got home, Mrs. Mead asked why she'd been out so late. Kathleen reminded her that tonight had been the taping, and that they had won. She said she was sorry she had forgotten, and promised she would be there next time. But Kathleen was tired of her drinking all the time and said, "you're not my mother, you're a drunk!". Mrs. Mead became irate and slapped her daughter across the face. Kathleen stayed in her room the rest of the night, while Mrs. Mead called out that she was sorry and eventually passed out drunk on the floor.
Original Degrassi: Season 3
In the episode Food for Thought, she poured herself a drink during dinner and became irritated when she overheard her husband planning to travel again for work. When he joined them at the table she expressed her annoyance at how he wasn't home enough. This caused an argument, which in turn caused Kathleen to become upset and leave without finishing her dinner. Mr. Mead expressed concern about how thin Kathleen was getting and asked if she was eating enough. This caused more arguing, while Kathleen, who was upstairs, overheard it all and called herself fat. The next day, Kathleen and Melanie came over after school to work on their science project, and Mrs. Mead brought them a plate of Kathleen's favorite cookies. Seeing that her mother was drunk again, Kathleen asked her to leave. Mrs. Mead became angry, stormed off, and wasn't seen again. She wasn't aware that Kathleen was not eating and developing anorexia as she was caught up in her own problems. It's unknown if she ever got treatment for her alcoholism, or if she and her husband stayed together.
Trivia
- Mrs. Mead was the first alcoholic parent in Degrassi History. Ellie Nash's mother Caroline Nash was the second.
- Sheila Brogren is Stefan Brogren's real life mother.