Margaret "Marg" Ellen (Mathers) Williams

She was small but mighty, and a force to be reckoned with. She might have described herself as lacking in confidence, but you wouldn’t have known it from the life she lived.

All who met her would comment on what a character she was, which was kind of invisible to us, her children, because she was just being Marg, a fierce woman with standards. We had clear guidance on life and how we presented ourselves in this world. She would often say that she had put her foot in her mouth from just being Marg…. terminally direct, without a filter, but you always knew where you stood. And oh, the sayings…. We have a collection of “Marg isms” None of them included “blue language”; after all she had standards. Although there was no doubt what she meant when she would tell you to “go fly a kite”.

In her early 20’s she traveled on her own, from Vancouver to Toronto, and worked to save money so that she could travel to Europe. On that trip she visited her older brother Dale, rolled his Lotus and walked away unscathed. On returning to Toronto she met Dave and they married soon thereafter.

She had an adventurous spirit and that left an impression on people. One August night at 38 weeks pregnant with their first child, in the sweltering Ontario heat, Dave and Marg hopped into the car to head north to the cottage they were building on Clearwater Lake. As they paddled across the calm, still lake at 11 pm, neighbours were horrified…. No phone, no road, no electricity…. all so they could sit in the cool lake water??… Didn’t they worry about what would happen if she went into labour?? Happily, 2 weeks later they paddled across the same lake with their first born, Sandra, to continue hammering the siding on to the cottage.

Marg was an expert at making “a silk purse out of a sow’s ear”. She was always improving, renovating, and organizing. Even if it was a cottage in the woods she elevated her surroundings to have “style” and most importantly, it had to be practical. She loved it. Whenever one of her children would come up with a project, Marg would throw herself in to it…. renovating a minivan camper, cooking for a diner, stripping flooring in a rental, installing soffits and falling from the scaffolding while doing so. There was no end to her desire to participate, leaving each project a little better than when she started, and knowing that in her own way she had helped us.

Speaking of style and standards she loved being “put together”. Designer hats, and clothes to attend formal business events with Dave, sing at the church or the latest ski outfit because she was going to learn to downhill ski. We can’t remember which came first the water skiing or downhill skiing. Maybe she wasn’t so lacking in confidence!

Marg was a great cook, who carefully clipped and collected recipes. She was a lifelong learner, who took a French cooking course to prepare her next dinner party, learned to cook vegetarian meals and studied and collected Native art and took a course to understand the world’s religions.

She loved sports. She played basketball, tennis, badminton (even while pregnant) and followed the Canucks, the Blue Jays and we always had breakfast at Wimbledon for a week in July at the cottage. (Although, she didn’t approve of players who “grunted”.) She enjoyed a wide group of friends through her walking group, keep fit classes, badminton and West Van United Church. She gave of her time to develop a Meals on Wheels program in Etobicoke, she drove for the Cancer Society, volunteered at her church and was generous supporting charities whose causes spoke to her and her values.

After caring for Dave who suffered from dementia in his later years, Marg declared “I want to go back to the bush” and embraced the offer to live near Craig on Denman Island. She had a cottage built there and was able to start yet another project. But as time passed, she experienced the cruel symptoms of Lewy Body Dementia. The associated hallucinations were disturbing, but more recently she frequently saw Dave and in the end said she wanted to “go home” and be with him.

On May 17, 2026 she got her wish and passed peacefully on to her next adventure.

As a family we are grateful to so many people who cared for our mom on this journey. Thanks to the dedicated staff of the Denman Island home care team, she was able to stay in her home as long as possible. Special thanks to the staff at Ocean Front Village (Sandpiper), and her favorite companion Pat, and caregiver Connie. You all supported our mom, but also our family on Marg’s journey home.

Our mom will be laid to rest on Denman Island on Friday May 22, 2026 at 10 am.

In lieu of flowers, a donation to the Farm to Family Meal Service Society on Denman Island, would be appreciated. Farm to Family was a service she enjoyed when she lived there. https://www.farmtofamilybc.ca/donate