Browse the obituary of residing in the province of Nova Scotia for funeral details
A life characterized by Divine interventions and centered on her Christian faith, kindness and charity, family and community peacefully ended on July 11th, 2024, at the South Shore Regional Hospital in Bridgewater, Nova Scotia. Donna Marion Mason was born on her father’s birthday on May 7th, 1941, in Windsor, Nova Scotia and spent her earliest days in the Ideal Maternity Home near Chester. She was the younger daughter of the late Stanley Albert Mason (1908-1999) and Patricia Nora Thompson (1916-2004) and was the last surviving member of her immediate family.
She was raised in The Ponds and Merigomish, Pictou County where she attended public school. She was an accomplished vocalist studying with Vivian Brand and singing on the radio in her youth with lifelong friend, Ron Murdock. She graduated from East Pictou Rural High School in 1959 and entered Ewart College in Toronto, Ontario intending to become a Deaconess in the Presbyterian Church of Canada. Through the guidance of Rev. Eldridge P. Aikens, she instead completed her BA at Sir George Williams University in Montreal, Quebec (1964). While there she rekindled an acquaintance with theology student David Laurence Mawhinney (1941-2020) who would become her husband. The two initially met at Camp Geddie close to her home on the Northumberland Strait. He proposed to her in a snowstorm on top of Mount Royal on Easter Sunday morning in 1964. She completed her Bachelor of Education degree at Macdonald College in 1965 and they were married at St. Paul’s Presbyterian Church in Merigomish that same year on June 26th by her father-in-law, Rev. David Mawhinney (1906-1992). They celebrated 55 years of wedded life.
Thereafter, her professional life focused on teaching and ministry. She taught at schools in Montreal as well as Halifax, Lunenburg, Pictou and Queens Counties in Nova Scotia. Later she served in chaplaincy and pastoral care roles at the Lahave Manor, Lunenburg County Jail, and with the Presbyterian congregations of Lunenburg County (Conquerall Mills, Dublin Shore, Lunenburg, Rose Bay, and West Dublin) culminating in a team ministry with her husband. She was also actively involved with the ministry that is Camp Geddie serving as Camp Convener, raising funds and helping to acquire additional land in support of the programming there. She even tried her hand at interior decorating because of her gift with a paintbrush and a roll of wallpaper. We never knew where the furniture might be moved to next!
She was an active volunteer with a variety of civic, church and sports related organizations. Like her parents she would start up a conversation with literally anyone at all. “We’re just on our way to Cape Breton” was an often-repeated starter and a recurring source of laughter within her family. Everyone was welcome in her home including a German tourist who shared Christmas with us one year. She was also a lifelong “cruise director” for her family. She organized all kinds of events and never ceased to relish an opportunity to get together.
Marion Mawhinney lived life with a steadfast faith in God which was her armour to face any adversity. This coupled with the love that was extended to her by so many people in her chosen home in Lunenburg County buoyed and sustained her over the last 50 years in the community. It also saw her through her most recent challenge with Primary progressive aphasia. She was richly blessed with wonderful friends and neighbours. She definitely had angels watching out for her.
Her much more public husband took her places that she could never have imagined including the 1994 Canada Trade Mission to China with Prime Minister Jean Chretien.
While there she broke protocol and almost caused an international incident in the Great Hall of the People by hugging a Chinese diplomat. She also had an uncanny knack of asking a question that could not be answered – “What do you think that Heaven will be like?” We rest assured that she has all the answers to her questions now. We will miss her deeply and ask that in her memory you remember to send your love to those who are dear to you, give a hug and wave goodbye when parting and know that if you sing “Dippity doo dah” you cannot help but have a smile on your face.
Besides her parents, Marion was predeceased by her husband: Rev. Dr. D. Laurence Mawhinney; sister: Joan Marie (Lyall Murray); daughters: Joan Elizabeth (1971), Patricia Lynn “Tish” (2001) and her granddaughter Rachel Ann (1991). She is survived by her children: David, Michael (Selena Martell), Alison (Ian Marshall), and Suzanne (Dan Rudolf); and her grandchildren: Justin, Renee, Zachary, Lexie, AJ, Hanna, and Paige; her sister-in-law: Dorothea and her niece and nephews: Helen, Wallace, and Donald.
“As for me and my house we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15)
The family would like to express thanks to the local paramedics and staff of the South Shore Regional Hospital. Their care, support and assistance were very much appreciated.
A committal service for family and friends will take place at Seaview Cemetery in Pictou on Saturday, August 3, 2024 at 11:00 a.m.
Donations to honour Marion’s life may be made to Camp Geddie, Box 34, New Glasgow, NS, B2H 5E1 or to a charity of your choice, through the Dana L. Sweeny Funeral Home, Lunenburg. Alternatively, a simple act of kindness to a loved one, friend or stranger would be equally appreciated.
The public is invited to sign a book of remembrance for Marion on Thursday, August 1 and Friday, August 2, 2024, between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. at the Dana L. Sweeny Funeral Home, 11213 Hwy. # 3, Lunenburg.
Thursday July 11th 2024
Death notice for the town of: Lunenburg, Province: Nova Scotia
death notice Donna Marion Mawhinney Thursday July 11th 2024
obituaries notice Donna Marion Mawhinney Thursday July 11th 2024
We offer our deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Donna Marion Mawhinney Thursday July 11th 2024 and hope that their memory may be a source of comfort during this difficult time. Your thoughts and kind words are greatly appreciated.
