1920-2022
Donalda McGeachy, née Campbell, died at age 102, having lived an interesting life filled with opportunity, creativity and great changes.
Although she was a “big city lady” who loved Toronto, Donna was fiercely proud of her pioneer beginning in Pelly, Saskatchewan and the values she learned there. She was the only girl with three older brothers. Her parents prized education and she was treated equally, rare for females at that time. Her father told her if he gave her money it could be taken from her but no one could take away an education, so she also was able to go to university.
She lived through the terrible prairie drought, the Great Depression, WW2 and had four children with her fellow Queen’s graduate ex-husband. She devoted herself to volunteer work serving 25 years in the cancer field, including 12 years on the Ontario Cancer Treatment and Research Foundation Board. She also volunteered with the Women’s Canadian Club, the Service League at London’s Victoria Hospital and the Canadian Institute of International Affairs.
She was a member of the Granite Club and the Heliconian, a club for female artists. Dubbed “The Prima Donna”, Donna delighted in opera, the ballet, classical music and works of art. She was a docent at the Art Gallery of Ontario, was herself a painter and earned her Japanese seal after studying with a Japanese master for five years. She prized creativity and cultural pursuits and found her greatest joy in the arts but she also shared a passion for politics with her father, a former Progressive Party M.P. She and her brothers shared the vision their parents had for this country and their respect for hard work, integrity and freedom. In her later years, she became an avid bridge player.
Asked if she had any words to leave behind, she replied, “Thanks for the memories…”
She is missed and loved by her four children: Lynn, Joan, Neil and Ruth, her six grandchildren: Jana (Mike), Kristin (Mike), Dave (Leslie), Diane, Cynthia and Cameron and her seven great grandchildren: Journey, Camden, Lucas, Ben, Maddox, Nolan and Mako. She was predeceased by her parents Milton and Hazel (née Dixon) Campbell and her brothers George and twins Wallace and Doug.
There will be a memorial gathering held on Thursday, September 22 from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Morley Bedford Funeral Home, 159 Eglinton Ave W. Toronto.
Donations in Donalda’s memory may be made to Queens University at www.givetoqueens.ca/project/view/2028
Thanks for the memories, Mom, Nana and Great-Nana!
2022
Nos plus sincères sympathies à la famille et aux amis de Donalda McGeachy 2022..
Morley Bedford Funeral Services Ltd
Décès pour la Ville:Toronto, Province: Ontario