Margaret Emeline (Gair) Wade, 83

MARGARET EMELINE (GAIR) WADE
23 October 1926 – 19 December 2009

Margaret was the eldest and only daughter, of Kenneth Gair and Frances (Chant) Gair. She was raised in MacGregor and Swan Lake, Manitoba. Following high school she was employed as a telephone operator in MacGregor. After moving with her job to Portage la Prairie she met Robert Allen Wade, an agent/operator on the CNR. They were married 14 January 1950 and subsequently had four children, Marilyn, Fletcher, Kathryn, and Kenneth (deceased 19 Dec 1976). They spent several years in small communities in Manitoba and Saskatchewan such as The Pas, Englefeld, Rossendale, Lowe Farm, Wekusko, Fairlight, Raymore, and Virden, Manitoba. In each of these they lived in the railway station, an experience enjoyed by all the family, but less enthusiastically embraced by Margaret who found the austere facilities provided by the railway to be a housekeeping challenge. In each community she was actively involved in curling, and in her church and service organizations. The final move with the CNR took the family to Rainy River, Ontario, where they lived for 23 years.
Upon Bob’s retirement from the CNR, Margaret enthusiastically embraced the game of golf. They spent their winters in Qualicum Beach, BC and in 1994 moved there permanently, where Margaret, by now an avid golfer, took up the game with a passion, even scoring two holes-in-one. A social being, she loved to dance, couldn’t sing, and enjoyed her friends, her family, and watching sports on television. She kept active and fit and had many friends. She and Bob kept close touch with their family and were often on the road visiting children and grandchildren in all parts of Canada.
Before her health started to fail in mid-2008, Margaret could be found on the golf course daily. By early 2009 her health precipitated a move to Atikokan to be nearer to the support of children and grandchildren, and for the last few months of her life she was constantly surrounded by a concerned and loving family.
Margaret, premature at birth, was a fighter and she fought her final battle with courage and grace. Sadly, she left us on Saturday, 19 December, 2009, the anniversary of the passing of her youngest son, Kenny. She’s probably having a few words with him right now about snowmobile safety.
Her family wish to express their kindest appreciation to all the medical staff at the Atikokan General Hospital, the therapists, friends, and family who treated her with such loving kindness and respect and eased her burden as she left us.
Margaret was pre-deceased by her parents, her brother Grant, and her son Kenneth. Her husband Bob, her brother Roy, her remaining children, nine grandchildren, and nine great grandchildren survive her.