Obituary Overview
Lovingly Remembered
Donna and Gerry Read are saddened by the sudden passing of Margaret Lorene Read, a cousin to Gerry’s Dad. Margaret was born in Calgary on April 9, 1924, an only child of Anna and John Read. Margaret went to Secretarial School, worked at Imperial Oil for many years and was a faithful supporter of Wild Rose United Church. She loved to hike, skate, curl, golf and enjoyed many travels around the world. She volunteered with Meals On Wheels and loved animals of all kinds, especially the many cats she cared over the years. Sam and Casey were her latest ones and after they passed away she lost interest in living without them.
Without children to care for her in her declining years with dementia, Donna and Gerry offered to look after Margaret and found a most excellent place for her to spend the last six years of her life. The Edgemont Retirement Residence became her home and she was able to take Sam and Casey with her. It takes a village and then some to look after a person with dementia, especially a person so fiercely independent as Margaret was. Dementia made her a little feisty and her day-to-day caregivers, Piedad and Melanie, had much cajoling and negotiating to do with Margaret. Margaret could not have had better caregivers than these two kind and capable women. God Bless you for all you did for Margaret.
A decision to retire in Invermere, B.C. meant that we would not be seeing Margaret as much, so we needed someone to come twice a week to make sure Margaret and her cats were doing well, take Margaret out for lunch which she loved so much and to attend to Margaret’s extra needs. Pauline Borkowsky is the angel who came in and treated Margaret with as much care and attention as if she was a family member. Pauline went above and beyond for Margaret and for us. We were confident that Margaret was well looked after. Pauline, you loved Margaret and were so patient and caring no matter what was thrown at you. You handled Margaret so well and she enjoyed your visits so much. Our deepest thanks go to you. You were a blessing to Margaret. You made Margaret’s last years so much better and you were the one who prayed her straight into Heaven. Thank you so much for everything you did for Margaret.
To all the staff at the Edgemont Retirement Residence, you are the best, hands down! Yolande, you allowed Margaret and her cats to come live at the Edgemont. You were sympathetic to our situation with Margaret and you took on the challenge. You took it on because you could! You train your staff so well to handle dementia patients and the elderly with respect and kindness. You are one in a million. Thank you! To Bethany, Margaret’s nurse in charge of all medical issues and liaison with Dr. Flo and us, thank you for always listening and responding to our concerns and handling issues effectively. To Dr. Flo, thank you for being patient with Margaret. It is incredibly difficult to examine a patient who doesn’t want that to happen! To Fasleen at the front desk, you are the sweetest and we will never forget how kind you were to Margaret when she first moved in and was agitated and demanding about getting her newspaper! To Pat, who is now retired, thank you for your kindness and concern when Margaret first moved in. We missed our chats when you weren’t there. To the kitchen and dining staff, thank you for never taking Margaret’s bad behavior out on her. You always greeted her with smiling faces and treated her so well. You knew it was the dementia causing her to lose her filters. God Bless you.
Thank you to Donna at the Edgemont for doing Margaret’s hair every week and for tracking her down and bringing her to the salon because Margaret could never remember when her appointment was. Thank you to Sue Clark who looked after Margaret’s feet every month and would write us sweet emails of concern if she thought something was amiss with Margaret. Thank you for caring Sue.
God blessed Margaret with angels to take care of her and as soon as Margaret made known that she was ready to go home to be with the Lord and her cats, He graciously took her home quickly and peacefully on December 18th, 2018. God Bless you Margaret. May you rest in heavenly peace for eternity with Jesus.
A Graveside Service will be held at Mountain View Memorial Gardens (1515 – 100 Street S.E., Calgary) on Thursday, December 27, 2018 at 11:00 a.m. To express condolences, please visit: www.mountainviewmemorial.ca.
Our most sincere sympathies to the family and friends of Margaret Lorene read 2018..
Source: Mountain View Memorial Gardens & Funeral Home
Death notice for the town of: Calgary, Province: Alberta