Parcourez la nécrologie de Mary Marr Roddis Dec 2023 résidant dans la province Nova Scotia pour le détail des funérailles
Mary Marr Roddis, née Primrose
1946-2023
Born in Glasgow, Scotland, Mary trained as a medical doctor at Aberdeen University and then worked in Dumfries Hospital. (Well loved by her patients, she was known as “Dr Mary” throughout her career). Always decisive, she met Hugh Roddis in 1971, got engaged in two days, and married in two months. 52 years later he cried at her deathbed.
Since Hugh lived in the Bahamas when they met, they moved to Nassau where Mary worked in a public health clinic. They emigrated to Nova Scotia in 1972 to start their family and she became a family doctor with offices in Dartmouth and Sackville. In 1975, they moved to Saulnierville in Clare, where she was a well-recognized member of the community. In 1986, she moved to the Valley to continue practice. In later years, she also diagnosed and treated allergies for patients from all over Nova Scotia.
From 1991 to 1996, Mary volunteered to act as school doctor in King’s Edgehill School to help students, particularly those who came from far away.
When Hugh & Mary retired in 2011, they moved to Hacketts Cove on St. Margaret’s Bay. Mary could never sit without working, so she joined local craft groups and produced beautiful quilts for every child and grandchild, not to mention a stream of knitted items. She volunteered at the local school breakfast program, at the sailing club, the Bay Grandmothers, the Senior’s Association, and was famed for her bread at local bake sales. Mary was an avid gardener and beautiful gardens behind everywhere she lived.
Throughout her life, her medical advice was available to those who needed it. She believed that compassion and care for the patient were paramount. Mornings were for visiting her patients in hospital, clinic hours consumed the afternoons (where an appointment was nice but not necessary), on the way home and weekends were for visiting the bedridden. Sometimes she would take the dog or one of their children to cheer people up. Seniors who needed support or new mothers who needed a break always got a visit.
Quick to make decisions, and quick to act, she left a trail of good works behind her. In Clare, she started the Prématernelle de Clare (a preschool to help Anglophone children learn French) and for years she virtually ran the competitive swim team. She acted as the doctor at the Université Ste-Anne in addition to her regular practice, sat on the board of the Villa Acadienne, and volunteered at the Well Women’s clinic in Yarmouth.
She was a founding member of The Red Door in Kentville and a staunch supporter of direct access to physical and mental health care for teens.
In Windsor, Mary worked to establish a Family Resource Centre and also started breakfast programs at local elementary schools. For her work, she won “Volunteer of the Year” award for Hants West.
Every year she asked within the community to find two struggling families in need, and created a “Christmas Package” of food and presents for them, which was delivered anonymously. They never knew who sent it.
She and her husband understood the importance of public libraries, so when the Town of Windsor threatened to close theirs, they together personally funded 50% of the cost of a new library building. For these efforts, they were made “Paul Harris Fellows” by Rotary International.
She was also a major donor to a gymnasium at the Halifax Independent School. The rooftop garden is named for her.
Mary will be deeply missed by friends and family from around the world; distance was never a barrier to her caring and involvement.
She is mourned by her four children, Kathryn Hull (Michael), David, Fiona
, Ian (Emily), and by her grandchildren, Benjamin, Adam, Ryan, Grace, and Lauren.
In Scotland, by her older brother and lifelong friend, John Primrose (Sandra) and her nieces &
nephews and their families. She was pre-deceased by her parents, Sinclair & Marjorie Primrose, and her older sister, Shirley Sutherland.
In New Zealand, by her nieces and their families. Mary was predeceased by her older brother Alfred Primrose and her nephew.
In Victoria, BC, by Dr Linda Thomson, née Roddis (Alan), their children and families. Linda was not only Mary’s sister-in-law, but she was also her medical school classmate, roommate, and lifelong friend.
Mary will also be missed by the people she met through a lifetime of service. Her force of personality was tempered with genuine warmth and compassion for those who needed it.
Despite Mary’s lifelong commitment to empowering and supporting people she encountered, challenges within our present medical system complicated her own months-long fight with a potentially curable cancer. In the QEII emergency department, as her body failed beyond repair, she selected MAID and died surrounded by her family, with Hugh holding her hand. She will be deeply missed by many.
The world is diminished without her.
The family would like to thank Dr. Hannah Dahn for her tireless investigative efforts and respectful conversations during initial diagnosis and treatment and Dr. Sam Campbell and Dr. Lucy Patrick for their warmth, respect, and compassion in her final hours.
The family is deeply grateful to all her friends in the community who have provided so much support, food, and gifts during the past six months. Especially to Joan MacIsaac, who was a staunch and close friend.
A Celebration of life for Mary will be held 11 am Friday, January 12, 2024 in the Ronald A. Walker Funeral Home, 13549 Peggy’s Cove Road, Upper Tantallon.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation of money or your time to support your community.
Dec-23
Ronald A. Walker Funeral Homes
Décès pour la Ville , Province Nova Scotia
avis deces Mary Marr Roddis Dec 2023
nécrologie Mary Marr Roddis Dec 2023
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