Emily McRAE

Adjust Text Size: A+ A-

McRAE: It is with great sadness that the family of Emily Margaret "Marge" McRae announce her passing. She died peacefully on Thursday, December 24, 2015 at her residence, Dinsdale Personal Care Home. Mom was born in Wynyard, Saskatchewan and grew up in Kandahar, Saskatchewan. She then moved to Brandon to live with the Melvin Graham family. She had a job as a House Mother at the Nurses Residence in Brandon. There she met two of her dear friends, Sheila Sul and Helen Rice. She was younger than most of the nurses in training but was a mother to them all. Mom met Dad (Allan McRae) at a hockey game in Hayfield, Manitoba. They were married October 27, 1956. They bought land close to the McRae homestead and developed Mar Mac Farms. She raised three children there, Blair, Janice and Jeffrey. When Mom wasn't taking us to ball, hockey, music or 4-H, she was preparing meals, sewing, gardening, doing the farm books or running to town for parts or just out to the field for Dad. Mom was known for having a caring heart. She could bring anyone or anything back to good health. Growing up we had dogs, cats, hamsters, calves, just about everything go through our house. Mom had such a green thumb she could grow anything! She brought many a plant back to life even when it looked bleak. Mom was a 4-H leader for 15 years. When we got older and didn't need as much attention she became a foster parent. Over a fifteen year span, twenty one foster children went through our house. When Blair took over the farm, Mom decided to work in town. She started at Brandon University Day Care looking after special needs children. That turned into a job at Cor Enterprises and then she got a job at the Brandon Mental Hospital when it moved to the Assiniboine Centre. She worked there for eight years. Mom always enjoyed Oak Lake Beach. We had many a fun summer there. We camped with some neighbour ladies and we always knew when they got into the slush. There was a lot of giggling going on. That was the only time that supper might get a little later than normal. The best thing Mom did was to convince Dad to buy a cottage at Oak Lake. In their later years they had so many great days there. They met many new friends, had many suppers together and always helped out with the float for the parade at the Oak Lake Fair. Mom cherished her friends at the lake. We would like to thank them for looking after her so well. They still talk about puttering around her yard in her bare feet. Mom looked after Dad when he got ill. She cared for him at home and at the lake as long as she could. He died in 2004 and then sadly lost her son Jeff in 2009. Mom had two more good years until she noticed she was losing her voice. She was diagnosed with Progressive Supra Nuclear Palsy (PSP). She decided to move to a condo in Brandon then to Victoria Landing and then finally to the Nursing Home. She got into Valleyview Personal Care Home and then eight months later into Dinsdale Personal Care Home. Mom was as happy as she could be in a personal care home. All the nurses and staff were fantastic to her! We want to thank each and every one of them. They were all so caring and thoughtful to her and our family. Mom was predeceased by her husband Allan; son Jeff; grandson Christopher; Allan's brothers Howard and Gordon; nephews Malcolm and Glen; sisters-in -law Margaret, Marion and Pearl; brothers-in-law Jim and Doug. She leaves to mourn Blair and Lois, Janice and John, Linda and Ray; seven grandchildren Brett and Melissa McRae, Marja (special friend Jonathan Verge), Jonathan and Tonja Bokkel, Tyson and Eric McRae as well as numerous nieces and nephews. Marge will be laid to rest in a private graveside ceremony at Rosewood Memorial Gardens. A Come and Go reception will be held at Memories Chapel, 330 18th Street North on Saturday, January 2, 2016 from 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Donations in memory of Marge may be made to the Dinsdale Personal Care Home, 510 6th Street, Brandon, MB R7A 3N9. Expressions of sympathy may be made at www.memorieschapel.com.

As published in Brandon Sun on Dec 29, 2015