Margaret Edith May Montgomerie

Margaret Edith May Kerswill was born on June 9th, 1922, at the family farm in King City, Ontario, with a midwife attending. She spent her childhood on the farm with her parents, Ethel and Lloyd, her younger brother James, and her older  sister Elizabeth (Betty). Marg and her siblings enjoyed life on the farm even though they had to walk 3 miles each way to Eversley School, a one-room brick schoolhouse heated by a potbelly stove in the winter. By grade 8, there was only one other student, a boy named David, in the same grade, and she took great pride in getting the better marks. She also excelled at Aurora High School, then attended Gregg Business School in Toronto to learn shorthand, bookkeeping, and typing.

Marg’s first job after graduation was as a secretary in the University of Toronto stores, when she was just 19 (in 1941). There she met Bob Montgomerie who also worked there and the rest is history, as they say. She and Bob were married in September 1944 at the family farm. Marg’s parents had just sold the farm and were soon to move to Maple where they lived out their lives, travelling in the summers to their cottage at Wasaga Beach. 

Bob and Marg soon bought a home on Peterborough Avenue in downtown Toronto, and Bob continued to work throughout his career at the university stores where they first met. Their three children (Robert Dennis, b. 1947; Marjorie Elaine, b. 1949, and Linda Jean, b. 1955)) all went to Regal Road Public School and Oakwood Collegiate not far from home. All three children eventually became education professionals—Linda as a musician and therapist, Marjorie teaching public school, and Bob teaching at university—inspired in many ways by their parents’ love for learning and education. 

Marg was a housekeeper when the children were young but took on various bookkeeping and secretarial jobs as the children became more independent. In those days (1950s) housekeeping was an even more daunting task than it is today as Marg made all the meals, made clothing for herself and the children, did all of the housework, helped the children with their homework, and managed the family’s meagre finances. She and Bob lived in their house on Peterborough Avenue until shortly after Bob died in 2011. In Toronto, Marg really enjoyed the company of neighbours, and was an active member of Patterson Presbyterian Church. She really loved visiting her and Bob’s siblings at their homes in Toronto and Etobicoke, as well as at their summer cottages at Wasaga Beach and Lake Simcoe (Belle Aire Beach). For almost forty years (1959-1998), Marg and Bob also enjoyed camping in several of Ontario’s Provincial Parks from the Pinery in southwestern Ontario to Arrowhead near Huntsville.

After Bob died, Marg went to live with her daughter and husband—Linda and Al Drennan—in Huntsville for a few years before moving into a retirement home (William Place) in Lindsay, Ontario, near Marjorie’s home.  There, she enjoyed word games, jigsaw puzzles, Scrabble games with Marjorie every Sunday, and daily chats with her many friends and relatives. She always took great pride in having so many successful and loving children, grandchildren (Ian, Neil [d. 1986], Trevor, Carolyn, Adrienne, Cameron, Dylan, and Danielle) and their spouses, as well as nine great-grandchildren (Owen, Liv, Lauren, Ryan, Kaelyn, Elisha, Lauchlan,  Ainsley, and Maisie), and a myriad of nieces and nephews and their children. She is also fondly remembered by her brother James and his wife Lorraine, her friend Wayne Higham, and her many friends at William Place. 

Margaret died on May 11th, 2022, just a few days short of her 100th birthday. A wonderful century of life, love, and happiness. 

The family will hold a private celebration of life. In lieu of lowers, please donate to your favourite charity in Marg’s name. Arrangements have been entrusted to the Mackey Funeral Home, 33 Peel Street, Lindsay.