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In memory of those who have Crossed the Bar
STINSON, Reverend Margaret (Margot) (née Booth) - B.A., M.Div., former Lieutenant, WRCNS - Peacefully, on March 13, 2010, at the Mount Hope Centre for Long Term Care, St Joseph's Hospital, London, Ontario, Margaret (Margot) Stinson (née Booth), 89. Margot was predeceased by her parents, George and Edith Booth, both of Birkenhead, England and Toronto, by her beloved husband Robert Harvey (Bob) Stinson, by her sister Freda Ferguson Braid, Kingston upon Thames, England, and by her brother, John Dean Booth, Toronto. She leaves her children David (Mary Sue), Michael (Françoise), Elizabeth (Liz), Patrick (Louise) and Peter (Brenda), her grandchildren Erin (David), Adam (Nicole), Pierre and Emilie, one great-grandchild, Annabel, her sisters-in-law Marilyn Stinson and Rosemary Booth-Bradford (Robert), her nieces Pamela, Diana (Randy), Laura (Steve), Lisa (Gary) and Sara (Ray), her nephew Richard (Trish) and, in England, cousins Shirley, Cynthia (Mike) and Josephine (Simon). She also leaves her former colleagues and students at London Central and Clarke Road Secondary Schools, her instructors and student colleagues at Huron College, several dear friends and the great family of the Anglican Church in London. Born "east of the Don and south of the Danforth" in Toronto in 1920, she attended Withrow Public School, Riverdale Collegiate and Victoria College, University of Toronto, graduating with a B.A. (Honours) in English in May 1942. Keen to serve Canada, she joined the new Women's Royal Canadian Naval Service (WRCNS, the "Wrens") as soon as she could enroll in October 1942. Naval service took her all over Canada, from coast to coast. Her last, and favourite, assignment was as Commanding Officer of the naval radio station at HMCS Coverdale, New Brunswick. She and Bob married at Toronto in July 1944, but were separated by military service until he returned from overseas late in 1945. They soon established their first home at Toronto. In June 1950, Margaret, by now mother to David and Michael, moved with Bob to London when he began teaching at the University of Western Ontario. Elizabeth, Patrick and Peter arrived over the next several years. Deeply wanting to make good use of her education, Margaret qualified as an English teacher. She began that career at London Central Secondary School in 1964 and retired from it, reluctantly, at Clarke Road Secondary School in 1985. Not satisfied with retirement, she enrolled at Huron College, obtained her M.Div. in May 1990 and became an ordained Anglican priest at the Church of St. John the Evangelist a few months before her 70th birthday. She finally retired from active service in January 1997. Margaret and Bob lived quietly in their London home, travelling when they could, until she entered full-time care in 2002. The family thanks, most sincerely, the staff of the second floor of the Mount Hope Centre for their dedicated and compassionate care of Margaret over the past eight years. Particular thanks and blessing go to Reverend Canon Don Ford, Reverend Canon Bain Peever, the staff members and the congregation of St John the Evangelist Church, London, her spiritual home, for their care, collaboration and prayers since Margaret became one of their company almost 20 years ago. The funeral will be held at St John the Evangelist Church, 280 St James Street, London, on 25 March 2010 beginning at 1:00 PM, with a reception in the Church Hall after the service. A private family interment will follow at Mt Pleasant Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations in Margaret's name to the Primate's World Relief and Development Fund, the Alzheimer Society of Canada, the London branch of the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of Canada or the charity of your choice. Funeral arrangements are entrusted to the James A. Harris Funeral Home, 220 St. James Street, London. (The London Free Press 20 Mar 2010)
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