Murdina McRae
1934-2021
Murdina died in Kentville on 21 August 2021
after coping with inclusion body myositis for over a
decade.
She was the
second of three daughters to Murdo and Christina Macdonald, Bayble,
Isle of Lewis. She is predeceased by her parents, brothers-in-law
Alasdair (Keyan) MacDonald and Alasdair Campbell, and nephew Murdo
Willie Campbell. She is survived by her husband, Kenneth, of 56 years;
daughters Sheena and Christina McRae; grandsons Joshua, Alexander, and
Iain Thomas; sisters Mairi MacDonald and Katie Mary Campbell in the
Isle of Lewis in Scotland; and nieces and nephews in Scotland, New
Zealand, Australia, Mexico, and
Indonesia.
Murdina grew
up in a closely knit, Gaelic speaking village in the Isle of Lewis, on
the north-west of Scotland. Life was close to the land, sea, and sky.
Families at that time, around WWII, subsisted on small crofts and the
sea. Men were often sailors and fishers to earn cash; others joined
the forces. Summers were of long days which gave time for Murdina and
her sisters to play on the shore, explore the moors, and have the
freedom to dream and imagine.
At five,
Murdina had to adapt to the English-speaking world at primary school,
where speaking Gaelic was forbidden. The edict of the day was that
learning in Gaelic would hold them back in the
world.
She was one of the few students chosen to go to
the academic high school in the town of Stornoway, adapting again to a
different world. Afterwards she trained as a nurse at the Royal
Infirmary in the then, grubby, industrial city of Glasgow. She
graduated and considered district nursing, which required her to
qualify as a Certified State Midwife.
Instead, she
returned to hospital nursing and quickly rose to be ward sister (head
nurse) at age 23. After several years, she felt that she was in a rut
and decided to take a year off to join a bevy of Scottish nurses in
Vancouver B.C. She adapted quickly to the outdoor life and its
freedom. She loved it.
At a
gathering of Scottish nurses and Canadian gentlemen, she chanced to
meet a so-called ‘mature student’ by the name of
Kenneth McRae; an elementary school teacher from New Zealand upgrading
his teaching certificate by studying at UBC. Attraction led to
romance, engagement, and marriage all within ten months. A year later,
daughter Sheena was born.
The young family moved to Oregon, living within
in a frugal, largely international, married student community while
Ken pursued graduate studies at Oregon State University. Murdina
assumed the role of counsellor and friend to all and sundry. A second
daughter, Christina, was born in 1969. Murdina aced the state
registered nursing exams and continued to work part-time in the
evening shift.
In 1972, the
family relocated to Ottawa when Ken accepted a position with Health
Canada. After three years in Ottawa, and on a trip through Nova
Scotia, Ken and Murdina stumbled upon the Annapolis Valley. It
appealed to their love of nature and county living, and when a
Research Statistician position became available at the Kentville
Research Station, the family moved one last time. For a while, Murdina
nursed part-time at the Miller Hospital, but soon opted to be a
full-time mother.
Murdina was an active member of the United
Church of St. Paul and St. Stephem in Kentville, and an avid reader,
gardener, knitter, and sewer. She was renowned for her culinary
skills, preparing delicious meals for family and friends. Her cookies
were known far and wide for their taste and
appearance.
Since 1974,
Murdina was the voice of Scottish Gaelic culture in the Annapolis
Valley. As a native Gaelic speaker, she brought public awareness of
the language and culture that was once dominant in northern Nova
Scotia and Cape Breton. She taught Gaelic language classes in
Kentville for over thirty years. She travelled to Cape Breton,
Antigonish, and Scotland for Gaelic events and had the energy to stay
up ‘til all hours enjoying the music of ceilidhs and milling
frolics. Not a week went by without a phone call from someone to help
with varied requests such as a Gaelic name for a boat or the proper
spelling for a tattoo.
Murdina’s Gaelic class organized
Kentville’s first public Burn’s Supper in 1976
which have continued in the local area to this day. She attended
almost all these Burn’s Suppers, helping to prepare the
haggis, and reciting a Gaelic after grace in her highland
lilt.
She was one
of the originators of the Annapolis Valley Clan Donald Association and
helped establish an annual Kirkin’ o’ the Tartans
service at the Covenanter’s Church in Grand
Pré.
At Acadia
University, she studied English and religious studies, graduating with
a BA in 1989.
She relished
the role of grandmother, attending virtually every concert, play,
school event, sports game, science fair, and graduation of each
grandson. She travelled with the family throughout Nova Scotia to
cheer them on. She spent time caring for them and keenly followed
their interests such as watching the Raptors and Canadiens and
learning to text on her beloved BlackBerry so that she could be in
contact with them. She cherished most the times when the family
gathered for birthdays and holiday celebrations when they could enjoy
one of her delicious meals.
A private
interment at Canard Burial Ground has taken
place.
Anyone
wishing to donate in her memory might choose Valley Hospice
Foundation, Valley Regional Hospital Foundation, or Bethesda Nursing
Home & Hospice (Stornoway, Scotland).
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Our most sincere sympathies to the family and friends of Murdina McRae 19342021..
Death notice for the town of: Kentville, Province: Nova Scotia