MARGARET JEAN HARRISON (DOW)

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MARGARET JEAN HARRISON

It is with great sadness that we announce the sudden passing of Margaret Harrison (nee Dow) on April 26, 2019.
Margaret was predeceased by her husband Glen, parents, James and Hazel Dow, and brother Bill (Audrey). She will be greatly missed by her children, Reid (Cathryn), Nancy and Susan LeGrand (Roger), her grandchildren, Paul (Deanne), Beth Fedorowich (Ryan), Ian (Nicki), Gillian Surminski (David), Scott (Britany), and her four great-grandsons, Ben and Jack Surminski, and Asher and Ellis Fedorowich.
Margaret was born on April 29, 1928 in Regina before moving to Calgary and then Winnipeg at a young age. She attended Robert H. Smith and Kelvin, before moving on to United College and subsequently University of Manitoba (U of M) where she completed her Bachelor's and Masters in education. She taught elementary music in Seven Oaks and Winnipeg School Division for many years.
She started playing piano at a very early age and was a phenomenal accompanist throughout her life. She met Glen while playing for auditions for the U of M Glee Club in 1948 and began a lifetime of love, music and 65 years of marriage. She was an accomplished accompanist for many organizations including the Harrison Singers, the Arcady Singers, Seven Oaks Community Theatre, as well as many broadcasts of "Let's Sing Together". She was organist and choir director at Oxford United Church from 1957 until 1977. Margaret was principal pianist at Rainbow Stage for many years starting in the early 1970s. She was honoured for her creative contributions on their Wall of Fame in 2009. In 1990 Margaret and Glen co-founded the Gilbert & Sullivan Society of Winnipeg where she also served as principal pianist until 2011.
A momentous event occurred in 1978 when a pool was put into the backyard of the house on Waterloo. Many pool parties with friends and family were enjoyed, especially with the grandchildren. After Glen and Margaret moved into Sterling House in 2013, she repeatedly hinted at how wonderful it would be if one of the children or grandchildren would build a pool, so the swimming and parties could continue.
During the 1980s, they began travelling with their friends, the Wilson's. Taking trips to Barbados, England, Scotland and tours on the Continent. As a lover of the royal family, a very special event was attending the Garden Party at Buckingham Palace in 1988. Following every one of these trips, Margaret would put on her archivist hat, creating extremely detailed accounts of the trips accompanied by a multitude of photos.
Regardless of her age, Margaret was always ready for a new challenge whether that was becoming extremely proficient at the computer and adopting email as a necessary part of life, or more recently, at the age of 90, starting to take flute lessons.
Margaret was overjoyed to attend the final concert of the Gilbert & Sullivan Society, "Goodbye Cachucha", in support of the Glen and Margaret Harrison Scholarship Fund. She enjoyed re-connecting with many people from the past. Margaret always enjoyed hosting as recently as this Easter when she welcomed her family for drinks and hors d'oeuvres in her apartment before dinner. She particularly enjoyed watching her great-grandchildren run around and play while spending time with her family.
A service to celebrate Margaret's life will be held at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, May 7 at St. Andrew's United Church, 255 Oak St.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Glen and Margaret Harrison Scholarship Fund at the Winnipeg Foundation online or by calling 204-944-9474.

NEIL BARDAL
FUNERAL CENTRE
204-949-2200
neilbardalinc.com

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on May 04, 2019