Gordon, Margaret Ellen (nee Shortt) Dip. P&OT 5T5
April 17th, 2021
1933 – 2021
To my friends and acquaintances. If you are reading this now you will know that I have taken off for parts unknown where it is possible my email address will no longer reach me. Except for my teenaged golf prowess, some of you will no doubt be surprised to see my name in the sports section of the newspaper.
I was fortunate in life to have had a father who was an engineer and a mother who was a schoolteacher who provided me with enriching dancing experiences at age five. The second world war cut short this endeavor to produce a ballerina and the years of dreaded piano lessons that followed did not a virtuoso make. These were not my talents.
A treadle sewing machine at my great grandmother’s house, on which when visiting there I was allowed to experiment, definitely caught my attention. Sewing machines followed me throughout life. They lit up the genes that I may have acquired from my ancestors the tailors, dressmakers and weavers.
The University of Toronto years in Physical and Occupational Therapy expanded my world. Occupational therapy was a vocation I pursued which led me to the place where I met the person who became my husband of 64 years. We have grown old together and whatever the circumstances might be, he always made me laugh with his witty observations and comments.
Our two sons followed their own paths and did not disappoint. Along with their wives they provided our four grandchildren with opportunities to each follow their own paths and special talents to make us all proud. Becoming a great grandmother someday never occurred to me until it came to pass. A baby boy arrived and in due course two girls followed. My own great grandmother, a woman of strength and fortitude, set an example by always remembering my birthday with a card and an enclosed fancy handkerchief which I still cherish.
Adversity entered my life at age forty-four with the diagnosis of a slow growing colon cancer. The surgical results were successful but a few continuing problems resulted. Persevering through 18 months of chemotherapy in a large medical study with an experimental drug was my contribution to medical science.
As the years passed genealogy caught my attention and dormant aspirations to sleuth could not be denied. Claiming UE status was not to be for my controversial ancestor who arrived too late for designation in 1802 from northern New York state to York Township, Upper Canada with a wife, 12 children, 18 head of horned cattle, 2 horses and 4 sheep.
I have had no regrets in life and having lived what some might consider a privileged life, I now join my ancestors and enter a timeless universe on the pages of my family history.
There will be no visitation, funeral or celebration of life. You will find my earthly remains in the family plots in St James Cemetery, Toronto. Visit me now and then and leave some Black Eyed Susans to cheer me.
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Our most sincere sympathies to the family and friends of Gordon Margaret Ellen nee Shortt Dip P&OT 5T5 April 17th 2021..
Death notice for the town of: London, Province: Ontario