Obituary of Marguerite Garland
Garland, Marguerite Mae
It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Marguerite (Marg) Mae Garland (nee Allen) in her 95th year on Sunday, February 25, 2018. Predeceased by her beloved husband of 60 years Melvin Garland. Dear mother of Linda (Jim) Collacott; Jane Garland; Pat (Rene) Desaulniers; Greig (Jayne) Garland; Jennifer (Chris van den Berg) Garland; and David Garland. Lovingly remembered by her 15 grandchildren: Katie (Chris) Heikoop, Heather, Matthew Collacott; Rhya (Kyle) Tamasauskas, Kaurel (Cody) and Kazys (Lauren) Tamasauskas; Allison (Chris) Vrabel, Beau (Shannon) Desaulniers; Rob (Becca) Garland, Kevin and Stephanie Garland; Sarah and Kaileigh van den Berg; Nathan and Zoey Garland and by her great-grandchildren: Noah and Charlotte Heikoop; Naomi Sim; Coleman, Bennett and Adeline Vrabel; Lyla Maxwell; Jaxson and Addisyn Garland; Maxine Desaulniers. Daughter of the late Jean and Ernest Allen of St. Catharines. Sister to Kaye Adams and the late John Allen, Harvey Allen, William Allen, Marie Sinclair, and Beverley White. Aunt Marg to many nieces and nephews.
Marg was a resilient and strong woman with a wonderful sense of style and a wicked sense of humour. She was born January 14th, 1923 and raised on a small farm in Saskatchewan with neither hydro nor plumbing. She travelled two miles to school by foot or horse-drawn sleigh and in the evenings learned to read by the light of coal oil lamps. She moved to St. Catharines in 1941 and worked as a bookkeeper at Thompson products (a factory that produced shells for WWII) until her marriage in 1947 to her soul mate Melvin Garland.
Talented and driven, she was always seeking to master new skills. Marg was happiest surrounded by family and friends, who benefitted from her sewing talents (which included many colourful quilts), her decorating finesse, garden gifts, homemade sweaters, butter tarts, Jam Jam cookies, bookkeeping skills and thriftiness. She taught us that it is never too late to seize the day and learn new skills. Marg returned to college in her 60s to build on her accounting skills, learned to use the computer in her 70s and wrote her memoires: “60 Years in a Nutshell” in her 80s. Marg and Mel enjoyed extensive golf vacations and travelled the world. Marg once marvelled at the thought of a “poor Saskatchewan farm girl sitting in Catherine the Great’s box seats at the Odessa Opera & Ballet Theater.”
At 95, Marg remained as sassy as ever. She will be greatly missed.
Marg’s family extends their thanks to the caring staff Bella Senior Care Centre in Niagara Falls and to the staff at Bayshore Home Care and in particular to Sunita and Sue. Marg’s family will receive visitors at the GEORGE DARTE FUNERAL CHAPEL, 585 Carleton Street, St. Catharines on Friday, March 9, 2018 from 2 – 4 p.m. and 7 – 9 p.m. A Celebration of Life will be held at GEORGE DARTE FUNERAL CHAPEL on Saturday, March 10, 2018 at 11:00 a.m. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations to the Alzheimer’s Society or the Heart and Stroke Foundation would be appreciated by the family.