Thankfully I was able to come to be with my mother last month, as it turned out to be our last visit.  I got a call that she'd been sent to the hospital from the nursing home where she lived.  My husband George and I flew to Toronto from Nova Scotia to be with her. She'd had a heart attack and was very ill, but true to her nature, after a few days she managed to smile and joke around with all of us.  She seemed very consoled to have us and granddaughter's Kim and Trish by her side all that week as she slowly recovered.  Her face lit up when Mary Anne, Vera and Barbara came to visit one day, and she cracked us up with her funny observations, and her recollections of German words and phrases.  She recovered enough to leave the hospital for a short while before her passing. In her last days she was peaceful and comforted.  I am truly grateful that I was able to see her one last time and remember how much she loved to laugh. Margaret will always be remembered for her free spirit and generous nature. May she live on in our hearts forever.

"Do not stand at my grave and weep" Do not stand at my grave and weep; I am not there. I do not sleep. I am a thousand winds that blow. I am the diamond glints on snow. I am the sunlight on ripened grain. I am the gentle autumn rain. When you awaken in the morning's hush I am the swift uplifting rush Of quiet birds in circled flight I am the soft stars that shine at night Do not stand at my grave and cry; I am not there. I do not die. Anonymous Margaret was born in Wellesley on October 25th, 1931, the eldest child of Rachel and Jacob Gerber. She had nine siblings, Norman, Vera, Ervin, Herbert, William, Mary Anne, Kenneth, Ralph, and Larry. Two siblings, William and Herbert passed on before her. She married Alan Colby, who passed away in 1991. She leaves daughter Pamela, two granddaughters, Kimberley and Trish, and one great-grandson, Jesse. Margaret was an outgoing and vivacious person. She was a role up your sleeves and just do it kind of woman. Most of her adult life, she worked at various service jobs, most often as a waitress. She thrived on the social aspect of work, enjoying the camaraderie of the workplace. Margaret had a can do attitude, work was her friend. She worked right up till she was 70, her last job being manager of a Laura Secord store, until a series of small strokes incapacitated her. She could also be extremely introverted. Margaret suffered from depression but soldiered on in spite of the archaic treatments she underwent. Her illness was misdiagnosed and misunderstood by the professionals of her time. Her saving grace was that she was stubborn and would carry on in spite of any obstacles in her way. In her last days of living on her own, she would insist on walking the two blocks to the plaza, stopping to rest on her shopping cart because of hip pain, where she could talk to people, and get her cigarettes and coffee. It wasn't a bad strategy and kept her connected to the real world. When it became evident that Margaret could no longer cope with illness and disability, she moved to Garden Court Nursing Home, a tiny private home perched on the shore of Lake Ontario. She spent her last five years there in excellent care. Margaret will be remembered for her beautiful smile, her extreme generosity, her green thumb, her flamboyant style, her loyalty, and her huge spirit. May she dwell in peace and light forever. "And did you get what you wanted from this life, even so? I did. And what did you want? To call myself beloved, to feel myself beloved on this earth." Raymond Carver

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Margaret Elizabeth Gerber Colby

October 25, 1931 – December 8, 2010

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