MARGARET EMILY WAITE

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MARGARET EMILY WAITE (née SMITH) June 7, 1926 - August 22, 2015 On the darkest day of the year, Margaret passed away peacefully in the evening. Beloved mother and grandmother, she will be missed and remembered by sons, Jim, Bob, Pete and Doug (Stephanie); granddaughters, Kelly, Lisa and Tasha; cousins (especially Kay and Joan), nieces (especially Jan, Judy and Wendy), nephews, relatives and step-grandchildren (Jordan, Nathan and Serina). She was predeceased by husband, Jim, in 2000, and younger siblings, Dorothy and Bob. Born in Toronto, Margaret grew up there and in Montréal. She graduated with a B.A. from the University of Toronto, enjoying having Northrop Frye as a prof and Don Harron as a classmate. She was quite the reader of good literature in her early days and many good books have been handed down. She met Jim there (likely in a church group), married him on September 6, 1950, and started a family in Timmins and Ottawa before moving to Winnipeg in 1956. The family rented in St. Vital and the West End prior to buying a new house on Barrington in St. Vital in 1960. After twins, raising the family, participating in the "Y" Neighbours group, and marking high school English papers, Margaret acquired her Master of Social Work and was a social worker (like Jim) for 17 years. At the same time she welcomed the births of her granddaughters. In Winnipeg, Marg (and Jim) attended, primarily, the Unitarian Church, after trying Regents' Park United. They were pacifists and supporters of the NDP, CBC and PBS. In 1993, they retired to Bracebridge, ON in Muskoka to be near her family cottage. Sadly, Jim's stroke in 1996 made it difficult to get to her water-access property. In 2005, Margaret moved back to Winnipeg into assisted living at Amber Meadow and then a nursing home. Margaret's father was a United Church minister and her maternal grandfather was Professor of Oriental (Mid-eastern) Studies and Dean of Theology at Victoria College in Toronto. Her mother's family were the first recreational visitors and among the first handful of cottagers at Muldrew (Leg) Lake near Gravenhurst in the 1890s, when access was by train, horse and wagon, rowboat and canoe. They were instrumental in creating, and participating in, the outdoor church at the lake, Memorial Pines. Her parents chose a great property across the bay from the church site and began building in 1925. For many years the family took the hymn books by boat in blueberry baskets to the services. The original cottage burned down in 1957, but the 1958 rebuild is in the same spot. Margaret spent the adventurous summers of her youth at the lake, as is well documented in the lake history books. When she and her sister were very young, their family survived a canoe tipping while heading to the cottage in stormy weather. She was a great swimmer and canoeist and loved picnics, sunbathing, sunsets, campfire sing-alongs, rain on the cottage roof, fall colours, loons and owls. She often said the best times of her life were at the lake (especially with cousins in her younger days); she also attended YWCA / CGIT camps. And she enjoyed the many camping trips from Winnipeg to Muskoka and back by car. Over the years she travelled with Jim to his Yorkshire family turf and to Newfoundland, on a cruise with her mother to Alaska, and with relatives to Ireland, in part in search of their Sligo roots. Margaret was a very humble, self-effacing person. She just wanted to get along, be included, and include everyone else. The purpose of family board games was to play, not to win. Like her mother, the desires of others were always more important than her own. She had a ready sense of humour and was a gentle soul, always a good sport, a soft touch, family-oriented and satisfied with simple things. She spent many happy hours with her granddaughters when they were growing up. They in their turn made many trips to the lake. She loved A.A. Milne, Thornton Burgess and Babar stories, South Pacific, attending the symphony, and performing in choirs. In her youth the family piano provided entertainment; her parents played, as did she. As a lifelong churchgoer and practitioner of the Golden Rule, the Lord's Prayer and the 23rd Psalm (like her mother), Margaret believed she would "dwell in the house of the Lord forever". If anyone would, it would be her. Thanks to the staff at Tuxedo Villa for taking care of Margaret. As per her wish, cremation has taken place. Memories are being shared from far-flung Canadian locations. There is a guest book online at Wojcik's. Fittingly, Margaret's passing was acknowledged by the worship leader at the final outdoor service at the lake on August 30 and she was remembered in the prayers. Her ashes will reside at the cottage in a box of white pine, perhaps with her husband's, next to the beautiful trees, plants, wildflowers, rocks and lapping waters of her beloved Muldrew.

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Sep 26, 2015