Marian Elizabeth McNabb

Marian was born on August 6, 1937 in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, the second-born child of Edward and Blanche Bibby.

She began her education in Prince Albert but once she completed grade 9, she moved to Saskatoon to attend the Sion Academy where she completed high school. Upon graduation, she returned to Prince Albert to begin her nursing training at the Victoria Hospital, from which she graduated in 1958. During summers between high school years, Marian worked as a paddling pool supervisor in Prince Albert.

Marian married Wally McNabb on June 11, 1960 and with the exception of time that Wally spent working on a Saskatchewan Power project in Regina for three years in the early 80’s, she was never really apart from her husband. They began their careers in 1958, Wally with the Saskatchewan Power Corporation and Marian as a Registered Nurse. After they were married, Wally’s career took them to Weyburn in 1960, then Melfort in 1967, and finally to North Battleford where they settled permanently in December 1968.

Marian’s passion for nursing was evident from the beginning of her career. In fact, it has been said that she did not choose her profession, it chose her. She was an exceptional nurse; she always had a great deal of empathy for her patients and she genuinely loved caring for others. She found her true calling as an ER Nurse, spending over half her nursing career in the Emergency Room and it is from there that she retired in 1994.

Family was at the heart of Marian’s life. She loved getting together with her parents, her sisters and brother and their families and Wally’s family as well. No distance was too far to travel to attend a family reunion and she loved reconnecting with her aunts, uncles, and cousins. Weddings, family reunions and banquets also allowed her and Wally to show off their dancing skills, something they both loved doing.

Marian enjoyed curling and played in a mixed league with Wally out of the Granite Curling Club and in many bonspiels in and around North Battleford. She also curled in a ladies league out of the Granite. She started golfing during the summers and spent a lot of time at the North Battleford Golf and Country Club in the summer, both with Wally and in a women’s league and regularly with three other ladies at least twice a week. For a time, she helped organize, ladies night for golf. She also travelled with Wally to the Saskatchewan Power retirees golf tournaments throughout the province.

She was an avid sports fan, always cheering on her Riders, Maple Leafs and Blue Jays. She loved travelling with Wally and the Old Timers hockey team he played on to tournaments in Western Canada and once to Reno, Nevada.

Always an avid volunteer, there was nothing she wouldn’t do to help anyone or any group. From organizing the banquet for her husband’s annual hockey tournament to serving on the Board of Directors for the Battlefords Union Hospital Foundation, decorating for the Festival of Trees Fundraiser or selling turkeys and chickens for a local farmer, she was always an active and willing participant wherever she went.

After her retirement from nursing in 1994, Marian found new ways to fulfill her passion for helping people and began a career in retail working at Zeke’s Jewellers and volunteering at Milbanke’s Flowers. She loved to visit and be involved in the community and these jobs gave her the perfect opportunity to do both.

In 2000, Wally and Marian made a bucket list trip to Scotland, Wales and England with Marian’s sister Corinne and her husband Peter Smith, visiting family in Wales, and walking the Old Course at St. Andrews.

Grandchildren were another of Marian’s joys and she developed very close relationships with her grandson, Adam and her granddaughters, Catherine and Elizabeth. The grandkids spent many summers in North Battleford creating memories and close-knit bonds that they will carry with them for their lifetimes.

Marian’s greatest and deepest love was for her husband Wally, and they celebrated 61 years of marriage on June 11, 2021. They were still deeply in love, despite their two-year separation caused by Marian’s developing dementia and subsequent move to River Heights Lodge in North Battleford. They still enjoyed each other’s touch, holding hands and kissing each other hello and goodbye after each and every one of Wally’s visits.

Marian is survived by her son Scott (Rita), daughter Dawn (David Loades), her grandchildren Catherine, Adam and Elizabeth Loades, her great-grandson George, her sister Corinne (Peter Smith) and her brother Carmen (Joan) and many nieces and nephews.

Marian is predeceased by her husband Wally McNabb, her parents Edward and Blanche Bibby, and her sister Joyce (Denis) Smith.

In lieu of flowers, the family has requested any donations be made to the Alzheimer Society of Canada via their website at https://alzheimer.ca. or the Battlefords Union Hospital Foundation via their website at https://www.buhfoundation.com.

A celebration of life for both Marian and Wally will be held in June 2024.