MARGARET MCCOWAN

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MARGARET MCCOWAN

After a short illness, Margaret McCowan (née Skene) passed away peacefully in her sleep in the early hours of June 3, 2024, at the age of 94 at Seven Oaks Hospital. The last few days of her life were spent surrounded by family, sharing love, laughs, and memories of a life well lived.

Margaret was predeceased by her husband Bill in 2016, after nearly 66 years of marriage.

Born March 9, 1930, in Winnipeg, Margaret was the youngest of three daughters born to Andrew and Dorothy (née Smallwood) Skene. Sisters were Mary (McLeod) and Phyllis (Cassie). Her dad worked as an elevator operator at the Confederation Building and others. The family moved often, from Elmwood, to the city center, to the North End, and finally to West Kildonan. Margaret's childhood was filled with singing, piano, and dance lessons, including Highland Dancing in honour of her dad's Scottish homeland, as well as many fun times with the extended Smallwood family. She made friends with every move and recalls celebrating VE Day in downtown Winnipeg, dancing with her best friend Pat at Portage and Main.

At Centennial School, 15-year-old Marg caught the eye of Bill McCowan, 16. They talked for hours at a party, and she fell for his intelligence and tall good looks. Dates included train rides on the "Moonlight Special" to Grand Beach for fun at the Dance Hall and walks along the pier. After high school, Marg worked as a secretary for W.J. Gage while Bill earned his Bachelor of Commerce at the University of Manitoba. They married on August 18, 1950, and honeymooned in a rental cabin at Ingolf, Ontario.

Bill began building his career in Winnipeg's garment-manufacturing industry and soon the family grew. Bill Jr. was born in 1952, daughter Daryl in 1955, son Colin in 1957, and daughter Patricia in 1963. Marg had her hands full with housework, cooking, and sewing clothes, but there were perks to their new neighbourhood of East Kildonan. When she and Bill joined Rossmere Golf and Curling Club, it was the start of a 35-year love of curling for Marg. The new bungalows around them were also full of young families, and Marg and Bill made many lifelong friends. They also started spending summer holidays at West Hawk Lake, not too far from their honeymoon lake at Ingolf. West Hawk days were filled to the brim with cribbage, horseshoes, tennis, golf, and other tournaments, swimming, boating, and plain old partying with a big group of friends, a social life that continued for decades. The old cottage they rented at McKenzie Beach every summer felt like their own, with kids and grandkids renting it as well.

In 1975 Marg finally embarked on a lifelong dream of learning to paint. She joined the Forum Art Institute, and during her 48 years there was a dedicated volunteer for exhibitions, fundraisers, its archives, and a number of years as Chairman of the Board. Her beautiful paintings won awards, are in various city and provincial offices, and grace the walls of homes across the city. Family members are all delighted to have many of her paintings in their own homes.

Marg and Bill also travelled extensively, taking winter vacations to Florida and the Bahamas, and visited New York, Atlantic City, San Diego, San Francisco, and Hawaii, and celebrated many New Years in Las Vegas with friends. Travels to Santa Fe and Taos, New Mexico, where Marg took in the art of Georgia O'Keefe, inspired much of her painting. Through Bill's work at his business, Squire Manufacturing, he and Marg took a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Japan, and when he sold the company and retired in 1979, they travelled to England, Scotland, Germany and the Netherlands. They visited family from the east to west coast of Canada and visited Toronto often after daughter Pat moved there.

In later years, Marg nursed Bill through a decade of health challenges, and when he passed in 2016, she was able to stay in their beloved North Kildonan house, gardening and painting into her 90s. Vision problems eventually put an end to Marg's long career in art, but with the support of her children and granddaughter Kyla (the weekly grocery shopper for over four years), her wonderful neighbours, as well as dedicated home care workers, she could still enjoy her home and garden until just a few weeks before her passing. Whatever the challenges, Marg always relished a lively family gathering, and wrote that she and Bill had always cherished "following our children and their children's life endeavours with love and admiration."

Marg is survived by son Bill McCowan (Linda Shum), grandson Brent and wife Deanna McCowan, and great-granddaughter Amelia; grandson Scott and wife Alexis McCowan; daughter Daryl (Ed Dumanski), granddaughter Kyla; son Colin McCowan with children, Caleb and J.J.; daughter Patricia McCowan (David Morrow) and granddaughters, Bronwyn and Caroline; sister-in-law Ina McCowan of Nainaimo, BC; and many nieces and nephews.

A small celebration of Margaret's life will be held at a later date.

Flowers gratefully declined. It was Margaret's wish that if people choose to make a donation in her memory, they do so to one of the organizations that are meaningful to her children: Harvest Manitoba; The Manitoba Genealogical Society; The South Whiteshell Trail Association; or the Canadian Children's Book Centre.

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Jun 08, 2024, Jun 08, 2024