Margaret Elizabeth Bird Davison

Born Margaret Elizabeth Bird on May 5, 1932 in Port Hope, Ontario, Margaret was raised by her parents Frank and Kathleen in Guelph, Ontario. Even as a child, Margaret had a vivacious spirit, loved life and brought joy to those she came across. She was feisty and always ready and willing to join in on the fun – whether it was roller skating, playing baseball or playing with milk snakes. Margaret also used to love swimming at Howett’s Pond with her brothers, sister Dorothy and many friends. Margaret looked forward to spending two weeks every summer with her beloved Grandmothers in Port Hope, going back and forth between Grandma Elizabeth’s house and Grandma Thurza’s house, who lived close to one another. Margaret also enjoyed spending time with her Aunt Mabel who was married to Hugh, brother of Margaret’s father Frank, and who also lived in Port Hope. Margaret also enjoyed visiting her much-loved Aunt Margaret, whom she was named after, who lived about 40 miles east of Port Hope. At age 12 when her youngest sister Brenda was born, Margaret and her sister Dorothy enjoyed taking Brenda for “buggy” rides while singing “Oh You Beautiful Doll” to their baby sister. Always able to find the bright side to anything, when Margaret and her brother Bill had their tonsils out at the same time Margaret said the best part was having ice cream after. Also as a child Margaret was bitten by the baseball bug after her Father Frank, an Agent at the CNR Station in Guelph, took her to Maple Leaf Stadium in Toronto to watch the Toronto Maple Leafs of the International League and until her passing Margaret was a loyal fan of Toronto baseball never missing a Blue Jays game.

As a young adult, Margaret enjoyed a career at Ontario Hydro where she worked in the office doing many jobs and where she met many good friends. One thing she always mentioned was how her boss used to say “If I told you you had beautiful figure, would you hold it against me?”. No boss would get away with saying something like that in this day and age but in the early fifties, that was just plain fun on the job. On weekends Margaret enjoyed dancing and taking weekend trips to the lake with her friends and she also enjoyed trips to New York City, Florida and Cuba with girlfriends.

Margaret met her husband Ross in 1952 at the Guelph Train Station and when Ross proposed to Margaret in 1960 they decided to marry and settle on the West Coast living first in New Westminster, then Richmond and from 1966 on in beautiful Burnaby, British Columbia. Margaret gave birth to their first daughter Janet Elizabeth in 1961, to their second daughter Linda Jean in 1962 and to their third daughter Ann Marie in 1964. Margaret and Ross loved raising their girls – taking them on many outings to Stanley Park, to the P.N.E. every summer, the Abbotsford Air Show, trips to Ontario, Alberta, Seattle, Vancouver Island (most notably Shawnigan Lake and Campbell River), the Oregon Coast and Disneyland. Margaret and Ross took their daughters to Sunday School at Unity Church where Margaret enjoyed organizing many potluck dinners and church functions. Margaret’s love of cooking and organizing these potluck dinners led her to a part-time job once her daughters were in school as a cook at Burnaby’s St. Matthews Daycare Centre. Margaret always talked lovingly of the sweet children at the daycare centre and so enjoyed her days “at work”, which didn’t seem like work to her. Margaret also went on to work at the Capilano College Daycare and then later worked on call at St. Matthew’s. While raising their daughters, Margaret and Ross were also able to sneak away on a couple of trips - a trip of a lifetime to Tahiti and on a Caribbean Cruise. After their daughters were raised Margaret and Ross also enjoyed trips to Maui, Mexico, Las Vegas and on an Alaskan Cruise.

Margaret was also a supportive spouse to her husband Ross as he climbed the twelve steps and attended many meetings with him. When Ross began the Sunday night meeting at Unity Church in 1988 Margaret lovingly attended every meeting with him and made coffee and treats for everyone. Ross remembers fondly how Margaret would come up to him on his anniversary night once a year and she would say “I’ve got to give the SOB a kiss, I mean Sweet Old Boy”.

At age 60 Margaret became a proud Grandmother for the first time when her daughter Ann Marie, who had moved to Kelowna, gave birth to Hayley. “Gramma Marg” made many trips to Kelowna to help teach her daughter and son-in-law Richard the ropes and when her second grandchild Dylan was born to Ann Marie and Richard, Margaret was a seasoned traveler to Kelowna when her daughter sent out the call “I need you Mom”.

Margaret was blessed with a third grandchild when Janet and Brian became parents to Brandon and so enjoyed every moment she was able to spend with Brandon.

Margaret was overjoyed when she found out she was having a fourth grandchild and when Linda and Jamie became parents to Gillian she knew she had it all – two granddaughters and two grandsons. Margaret lovingly referred to Gillian as “what a sweet little heart”.

All four grandchildren loved spending time with Gramma Marg and all remember dearly sleepovers in the “Red Room”. The grandchildren also enjoyed going for car rides with Gramma with the CD player blasting Garth Brooks singing “I’ve got friends in low places, where the whiskey flows and the beer chases my blues away, well I’ll be okay . . .” One of Gramma’s favourite places to drive the grandchildren was to the Bowling Alley or to her favourite grocery store, Buy Low Foods where she proudly introduced her grandchildren to her friends that worked there. The grandchildren always thought it was so neat that she knew them all by name.

Margaret also loved her three sons-in-law dearly, telling each of them “You’re my favourite son in law when the other ones aren’t here”.

Although Garth Brooks was Margaret’s favourite, she also loved music by Johnny Cash, George Jones and Elvis Presley and religiously watched The Grand Ole Opry.

Margaret watched Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy almost every night. Even a few weeks before her passing she got a little burst of energy and asked to watch Wheel of Fortune while she was in the hospital and solved the puzzle “Salt Water Aquarium” which of course was right. Margaret also loved watching David Letterman, Larry King Live and Nancy Grace and ice skating competitions, but her favourite thing to watch on TV was the Toronto Blue Jays, never missing a game – her Father Frank is smiling up in heaven.

Margaret enjoyed going out to dinner with friends and having friends over for dinner with two of her favourite meals to prepare for guests being Seafood Thermador and Chicken Cordon Bleu. She also made a mean Roast Beef with Yorkshire Pudding and Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without one of her Turkey dinners followed by tasty shortbread cookies.

Margaret also loved going to see live plays, ice shows, concerts and comedians. Margaret went to Punchlines Comedy Club in Gastown many times when her daughters Janet and Linda worked there and was able to see numerous comedians perform including Ryan Styles and Robin Williams. Margaret also saw her beloved Garth Brooks in concert as well as Johnny Cash and George Jones to name a few.

One of Margaret’s favourite times of the year was Christmas – every December 1st was “light up” and Margaret loved having friends over to enjoy the lights and enjoy some Christmas cheer. Margaret’s love for Christmas lights started at her childhood home in Guelph, Ontario when she bought her Mother a strand of lights and every year thereafter she would add “just one more”. You could see Marg’s house lit up for miles.

Margaret had an active social life. Every Wednesday she went bowling at 10:00 am followed by lunch with her good friends Eleanor and Peggy. Margaret became President of the bowling league she was in and organized their annual banquet.

Margaret also enjoyed being a sister, a “Pythian” sister that is, and once a month Margaret would join her sisters at their meeting hall for an evening of fellowship and fun.

Margaret looked forward to Saturday mornings when she would get her hair done and always enjoyed chatting and exchanging stories with her favourite hairdresser Elaine. Having a nice hairdo and pretty lipstick on was always important to Margaret.

Margaret was a fantastic driver and was proud to have a clean driving record with only one speeding ticket in all her years behind the wheel. She tried valiantly to talk that police officer out of giving her that one ticket but to no avail. Margaret would offer to drive friends to appointments and to give a ride to anyone who needed one. Margaret enjoyed many cars over the years including her first car, a 1952 Pontiac and later a Studebaker, a Javelin, a Matador and a Rambler. Margaret was also fortunate to drive many new cars that Ross brought home from the car dealerships that he worked for over the years.

Margaret had a brilliant memory and remembered every phone number she ever dialed – even phone numbers she called as a child. You didn’t need a phone book if Margaret was in the room when you were looking for a number. Margaret kept her brain and her memory sharp by doing puzzles, with her favourite being the Jumble Words. She also enjoyed Word Search and the occasional crossword, which she lovingly did with her grandchildren.

Perhaps Margaret’s greatest gift to those she came across was her sense of humour. Margaret was a gifted joke teller always delivering the punch line at the right time. She told jokes from years ago and was always looking to add new jokes to her arsenal. She was always asking “heard any good jokes lately” or saying “I’ve got a joke for you”. She was able to make you feel comfortable, safe and warm with her laughter.

Margaret had a wonderful life. Like many of us, she suffered some heartache and went through some troubled times but the good times far outweighed the bad. It was with a broken heart that those close to her learned she “wasn’t doing very good” and when she was diagnosed with cancer in August of 2008 everyone thought she would “beat it”, like so many other challenges Margaret overcame.

Her legacy of commitment to family values and compassion was fully demonstrated. During the last few months she was completely supported by her family. The hospital became a second home. She underwent treatment for the cancer at Lions Gate Hospital by the renowned Oncologist, Dr. Paul Klimo. In November she was moved to LGH 7 West Palliative Care. She was provided with exceptionally loving care by the nursing staff who attended to her every need. She was kept very comfortable and remained pain free until her peaceful transition in the wee hours of the morning on Sunday January 4, 2009.

Those who knew Margaret will miss her terribly as she was like no other. Her husband, daughters, sons-in-law and grandchildren will have heavy hearts as they carry on without her. I am sure she is sitting up in heaven telling all of us to “cheer up” or “hang in there”. We will miss you Sweet Margaret.