Margherita passed away peacefully at home with her family on May 2, 2020, aged 92. Born in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, she trained as a nurse and midwife in Cambridge, where she met her husband, Sydney Mendel. Margherita worked for a time delivering babies in the East End of London and married Sydney in October 1952. They moved to Canada in 1956 and made Nova Scotia their home in 1962, where Margherita continued to work as a nurse and Sydney was a Professor of English at Dalhousie University. Sydney passed away in 1984 and is buried in Mahone Bay, where Margherita will join him after a separation of 36 years.
She was the daughter of the late Joseph Henry and Constance (Harrison) Smith and sister to the late Joyce Jones. Beloved mother of five children, Anna (Andrés) Saroli, Susie Mendel (Nicholas Fishwick), Toby Mendel (Lilani Kumaranayake), Tessa Mendel (Terry Pulliam) and Charlotte Mendel (Eli Elias) and 12 grandchildren, Jesse Saroli, Miranda Saroli, Sammy Mendel, Rachel Mendel, Asa Mendel, Caleb Mendel, Nathan Mendel, Ilan Mendel, Ezra Mendel, Mariasha Mendel, Abigail Mendel-Elias and Eytan Mendel-Elias. Sydney was Jewish, and Margherita’s family encompasses many religious and cultural backgrounds. Her faith was very important to her and she was a regular participant in the life and activities of St. George’s Round Church.
A funeral service for Margherita will be held on Tuesday May 5, at 12 noon. Access is via an online link https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83980946560.
Flowers can be sent to the JA Snow Funeral Home, or alternatively in lieu of flowers, donations to Oxfam are greatly appreciated.
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