WILLSON, Margaret (Peggy) Helen, left us peacefully on
April 29, 2017, surrounded by loved ones at her home in Kelowna. Born July 24, 1913, in Winnipeg, Manitoba to Charles and Helen Fraser. The oldest of 11 children,
she was predeceased by her parents, her loving husband Ralph, 2004, son John, 1995, daughter-in-law Janet Dayman, 2002, her brothers Bob Fraser, Dyke Fraser, Allan Fraser, and Don Fraser, and sisters Elsie Colvin, Bea Siska, and Jean Lefley, sisters-in-law Jean Fraser, Bernice Fraser, and brothers-in-law Keith Campbell, Elias Siska, Bob Lefley, Jack Colvin. She is survived by her daughter Jean Swindells, son-in-law Art Swindells; grandchildren, Christina Swindells-Nader (Mounir Nader), Jason Swindells, Melanie Willson (Matt Rader), Carlee Willson Gurney (Laurence Gurney) and Danica Willson (Joseph Taylor); great-grandchildren Neela and Nora Rader, Khalil and Rafiq Nader, Anomantia and Furia Gurney, and Cedar Taylor; brothers Ron (Jeanette) Fraser, Len Fraser, sister Joyce Campbell, sisters-in-law Cora Fraser and Dawn Fraser; and dozens of beloved nieces and nephews and their children and grandchildren. Peggy lived every one of her 103 3/4 years to its fullest. Breaking her right femur at 100 and her left femur at 102 slowed her down but did not dispel her enthusiasm for life. Earlier this month she wondered if maybe a heart transplant would help her; if she could have undergone heart surgery to fix her leaky heart valve, she would have done so. She loved getting to know people, learning their stories and telling hers, snuggling babies and baking treats for kids, gardening, dancing, winning at cribbage, penguins, and watching curling tournaments and Jeopardy. Growing up in Winnipeg, Birds Hill, Ekhart, and Argyle through the Great Depression, and being the daughter of Scottish immigrants, made her frugal. Yet she was beyond bountiful with her love and she was loved by so many. After moving to Vancouver in 1939, meeting Ralph and then marrying him the next year, she spent several years apart from him while he served in WWII but upon his return from Europe they bought the first of many trollers and worked together fishing the coast of BC. After 10 years with a close-knit community in Bella Bella, they settled in Coquitlam where their neighbours quickly became like family. In retirement they spent their winters in Mexico and Peggy and Ralph added to their company of friends who were like family, all of whom would regularly receive letters from Peggy. In 1998, as Ralph's dementia became more pronounced, they moved to Kelowna and Peggy made more friends in The Lexington complex and in Ralph's dementia support group. Until very recently Peggy was the last person to leave the party at a family wedding, and she knit baby blankets for new members of the extended Fraser family and the family of her heart. For one who had such a big heart, it is fitting that she succumbed to congestive heart failure. It is hard to say goodbye to Peggy but in the words of Stuart McLean, “Love never ends”; she is still with us through the stories she shared, with the web of love she knit of all the people she knew, and in the joy we feel whenever we remember her delight, her smile, her laugh. The quality of Peggy's years as a centenarian has been a tribute to the support provided by Jean, Art, Melanie, and a host of helpers who supported her wish to stay in her own home and to die there: a special thanks to Rena Marquez, Doctors Michele Thomasse and Lynne Tereposky, Carol Stein, Carolyn Langrish, Kimberley Swaney, Judi Sanders, Chris Sladen, and Stella Wowk. Her sister Joyce and the palliative care team (especially Ann) from Interior Health were instrumental to the peacefulness of her passing. A celebration of Peggy’s life and party in her honour, complete with cribbage tournament, will be held in the Clubhouse at The Lexington, 650 Lexington Drive, at noon Saturday, May 13. Please drop off passengers, then park outside the complex. In lieu of flowers, donations in Peggy’s memory may be made to Living Positive Resource Centre, Okanagan, 168 Asher Road, Kelowna, BC V1X 3H6 http://livingpositive.weebly.com/donate.html or to a charity of your choice. Condolence may be sent to the family by visiting www.firstmemorialfuneralkelowna.com. Arrangements entrusted with First Memorial Funeral Services, Kelowna. 250-762-2299