Margaret Jean Davenport

Margaret was born to Mary and Augustus Corbett in Bath, New Brunswick on 9 June 1941. She was the eldest of her 7 siblings: Gerald, Teresa, Peter, Patricia, John, Gertrude, and Raymond. Educated in Bath, she worked there as a medical secretary for Dr. Nugent as a young woman before hopping a bus for Ontario in the 1960s.

With little more than a suitcase and a few dollars in her pocket, she landed in Oshawa where she lived at the “Y” before settling in Toronto after finding employment in the insurance business. It was during this time that she met John Davenport at a dance. They were married in 1968 and two children followed quickly in 1969 and 1970: Lisa and Christopher. Living first at an apartment in Scarborough, they found a modest home east of the city in a then quiet Pickering Village. They would spend the next 30 years there raising a family and making many friends in the community.

Margaret was an active young mother and homemaker who volunteered with church groups; the local school board; and canvassing for several charity organizations. Although she was certainly no athlete, she enjoyed playing tennis and took up “power walking” with a local group of women when it became popular in the 1980s. Never possessing a driver’s license, she walked or cycled most places and would often be seen returning home with a basket full of groceries. Her mode of travel gave her many opportunities to stop and visit with friends and neighbours along the way and Margaret never missed an opportunity to chat and keep up with community news.

Retiring first to Madoc and later Peterborough, the latter years were full of many health problems for John and Margaret. John died in 2013, leaving Margaret alone after 45 years of marriage. Diagnosed with Vascular Dementia, she moved to The Parkway Retirement Residence in Pickering where she had companionship with two long-time friends from Pickering Village: Irene Coyne and Rose Arscott. With her dementia progressing, she moved to Seven Oaks Long Term Care in east Scarborough – back to the neighbourhood where her life with John had begun.

Although her health struggles continued, she had many good times at Seven Oaks, making friends with several residents and many of the loving staff. Everyone in the building seemed to know her and would stop to chat with her as she roamed with her walker on the way to the store or the hair salon.

Margaret was hospitalized several times during her four year stay at Seven Oaks. She had a remarkable ability to recover from the most demanding situations. She was at Centenary Hospital recovering well from surgery when she died peacefully in her sleep on 27 March 2019.

She is survived by her daughter Lisa; son Chris; sister Gertrude; and brother John.

She will be missed!

A memorial is being planned. If you are interested in attending, please contact Chris or Lisa.

In lieu of flowers, please make donations to the Alzheimer's Society of Canada and/or the Canadian Cancer Society.