Margo Osudar

It was June 1977, and it was by chance I was at Brandy's in the Byward Market, and there was a group of young women at the bar including Margo and her sister Carol with several of Carol's friends. That's how I met Margo, who was pretty and shy. I asked for her phone number but neither of us had a pen and paper, so I committed her 7 digit phone number to memory. Days later, I called the number and I had the wrong number of course! Or did I mess up the number? I tried another 3 or 4 tries and on the last, Margo answered the phone. Courtship followed and we married one year later. That's how I met Margo!

In her apartment on Kilborn Avenue, she had this Raggedy Ann doll with a T shirt printed with MARGO on it. Somewhere along the way, I got a Christmas gift in 1977 from Margo with a Raggedy Andy Doll with a T shirt printed with ROY on it. That's how Margo got me! I found Raggedy Roy last night in the house; now I am looking for Raggedy Margo throughout the house so those two can be paired up once again.

We have two wonderful sons together - Peter and Daniel. We raised them together best we could. Margo and I did okay. I promised Margo in the last few weeks that I would watch over them for her.

Margo was my best friend ever, especially when we travelled Europe together: Paris, Rome, London, Amsterdam, Vienna, and Budapest, just to name a few. All fun. One trip, we stayed 3 nights at the MacDonald Hotel in Oxford and the room we were given was used in the British police drama MORSE as the site of a person who was hanged from the chandelier right over the bed. We had a drink in the famous bar where James Bond himself encountered foreign agents doing a drop. Then we exited the MacDonald Hotel and we were lucky enough to see The Duke of Cambridge in person just 4 or 5 feet in front of us during his usual engaging the public before hopping into a limo! Margo loved that!

She very much liked to go to the Greenboro Library and she would browse for her favourite authors. She liked Maeve Binchy! She also liked to knit scarves and other little things which she gave to friends or provided to the Church Bazaar. She also liked to sew little pouches from colourful fabric then add zippers and voila, you had an instant carry all reusable bag when you shopped, all in a zipped pouch. They are lovely things she liked to make. Crafty Margo!

When we were both working, I would come to the BMO branch at L’Esplanade Laurier. And Margo had a smile and a way of engaging customers at the counter looking for banking services. I don't know how many times I would see her serving famous customers and she was very professional about it......journalists, politicians, senior public servants, any way the two most notable I remember seeing were Paul Martin and the infamous real estate developer old man Campeau himself. She wore the Bank of Montreal BMO brand like a badge of courage and she was proud of her 35 years service when she took retirement in 2007.

Her family was the most important thing in her life. She was selfless when it came to Peter and Daniel and to me, her husband and partner for 43 years.

As the end of life neared, she was so brave, beautiful and strong. When I met her 43 years ago, she was lovely and that never changed in 43 years. She said, “Roy, I have had a good life. We had children. We raised them to be who they are. Don't cry for me Roy just let me go.” She is at peace now. Margo was a spiritual person and the Rideau Park United Church was part of her life in Ottawa for over 50 years. She enjoyed very much gospel music and watching the weekly Mormon Tabernacle Choir television broadcasts on PBS. That really resonated with her especially after we visited Salt Lake City and actually saw one of the weekly live TV broadcasts in person.

God bless you Margo! I will always love you for the person who you were - sensitive, kind, courteous, lovely, and my partner in life!

In Ukrainian we say Vichnaya Pamyat. Eternal memory of Margo will rest forever in me and Peter and Daniel.

Your loving husband Roy.

Faith, Family, and Lifelong Learning

There is much our mother taught us. She wanted us to be happy, kind, courteous, hard working and confident in all things no matter which path we chose.

As children, our mother brought us to Sunday school at Rideau Park United Church where she also taught Sunday school. Taking two hyper-active boys away from video games and cartoons to church required a lot of work on Sunday mornings. Attending Church throughout the years instilled in us a belief in God, community, and service.

Mom found joy in baking, sewing, and spending time with friends and family. The blueberry muffins, pumpkin loaf, home-made macaroni and cheese, were some of our favorites among the many she made. Many raved about corn bread, especially the American side of our family! Many of these treats also found their way to the Church Bazaar too!

When we were little kids we remember Mom taking time at bedtime to read to us and sometimes we would sit on her lap. She loved to read books and this was her way of passing on that love to us kids. We liked Richard Scary books a lot and there was a special one called Sleeping Dragons All Around!

We remember long car trips that we would take to Aunt Carol’s where we’d spend hours in the car from Ottawa to Saratoga Springs, New York. Two young boys, getting on each other's nerves. She’d do anything to keep us happy - control over the radio, the front seat, treats from Tim Hortons. She was always thinking of others. She would even take part in the “Turkey Bowl”, a yearly backyard Thanksgiving football game, even if it was something she didn’t want to do.

But she knew it was something that allowed us to bring the Osudar and Newlin families together. Mom would sacrifice the things she wanted to do to share our interests.

As you can imagine, the Osudar household was male dominated with Mom being out-numbered 3 to 1 sometimes made it difficult for her to get control of the television but we remember watching shows like Little House on Prairie and The Waltons with her and movies like Miracle on 34th Street. As children, we didn’t appreciate watching these shows because of the emotional storylines but over time we understood that she was trying to find a way to drive home the

complexity of family values and its importance to two young boys who may not be very focused on the importance of such things.

Mom placed great importance on having and pursuing education for its own sake as this was her way of ensuring we would be prepared to succeed at school or at work. She supported us without fail whether it was curling, baseball, skiing/snowboarding, music lessons, scouting, but most importantly, our education. There was never a lack of activities and opportunity. She didn’t want us to miss out on anything.

Our Mom was a gentle soul. A kind heart. A warm smile for us. Always willing to give and ask nothing in return. Her faith was always something that defined her. She believed in The Holy Spirit, God, and Jesus Christ His Son and always stood by that.

We miss you Mom! But the things you instilled in us made us stronger and allowed us to be who

we are today!

Peter and Daniel Your Loving Sons

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Retired Employee of BMO for 35 Years

At the Ottawa General Hospital, on Monday, November 29, 2021 at the age of 69 years. Beloved wife of Roy Osudar for 43 years. Loving mother of Peter and Daniel. Predeceased by her parents Norman and Margaret Marsh. Margo is survived by her only sister Carol Newlin (Ted) of Saratoga Springs, New York. Roy would like to express a heartfelt thank you to the nurses and support staff at the Ottawa General Hospital for their excellent and compassionate care shown to them in this difficult time.

A celebration of Margo`s life will be held at McEvoy-Shields Funeral Home, 1411 Hunt Club Road by invitation only. The service will be available by live stream for all to view on Saturday, December 4, 2021 at 11 am at https://funeraweb.tv/diffusions/41712. In lieu of flowers, in memoriam donations to Rideau Park United Church would be appreciated.