Maureen (nee Smith) McManus was born at Hawkhurst, Kent, England. She spent her childhood at Stonegate and Wadhurst, East Sus. She then lived in Folkestone, Kent. After attending St. Margaret’s school, she studied to become a secretary at Folkestone Technical College, 1956-’57. Maureen was recruited to work for Pfizer the pharmaceutical company where she started as a shorthand typist, then became secretary to the Manager of the Publicity Department, and then Assistant Secretary to the Managing… Read More » Director. After Pfizer moved its offices from Folkestone to Sandwich, Kent, Maureen worked for the South Eastern Electricity Board. An advertisement came to her attention for secretaries with the World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland. From 1963 to 1966, Maureen spent three-and-a-half happy, adventurous years there. She emigrated to Montreal in June 1966 where she again worked for Pfizer as secretary to the Manager Pharmaceutical Division. Expo-67 and Centennial year brought many adventures including a Greyhound bus ride to Vancouver as her Centennial project. Homesickness for Europe prompted her to move to Brussels, Belgium, where she shared an apartment with a friend she had met in Geneva. Again, she worked for Pfizer. Six months of Brussels Winter was depressing. Maureen decided to give Montreal another chance, reconnecting with friends there and working for Hoffmann-La Roche, the Swiss pharmaceutical company as secretary to the Executive Vice President. This company moved to Vaudreuil, causing a long commute. Maureen then worked for Domtar in downtown Montreal, 1972-’76. Maureen married Michael McManus in 1975. She then worked for the C.D. Howe Institute and Alcan. The couple moved to Ottawa in 1982 and split up in 1984 when Maureen was transferred to Calgary by Synerlogic, a computer software company. After volunteering for Operation Eyesight Universal, Maureen was hired by that organization in 1988 for promotion and fundraising. She became the first woman member of the Rotary Club of Calgary North in 1990. She moved to High River in 1996 and became the first woman member of the Rotary Club of High River. She worked for the High River Hospital Foundation, then the High River Times. In 1997 Maureen graduated from the University of Waterloo’s Distance Education studies with a Bachelor of Arts degree. She retired in 2004, but remained active in the High River community.
Interment will take place at a later date in England.
Maureen has requested that donations in her memory be made to the Nature Conservancy of Canada, 245 Eglinton Ave East, Suite 410, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4P 3J1 Toll free 1-877-231-3552.
Nos plus sincères sympathies à la famille et aux amis de Maureen Elizabeth McManus High River..
Décès pour la Ville: High-River, Province: Alberta