Margaret Northeast (nee Edwards)
Margaret passed away at Lady Minto Hospital on the morning of Thursday, December 14th. The last year, which brought her second bout with cancer, meant countless trips to hospitals and doctors’ appointments. Throughout all of them, and at the end, her hand was held by her loving husband, Trevor.
Margaret was born in Tredegar, South Wales, in 1939. She had fond memories of her childhood there and retained a hint of an accent and many Welsh-isms in her speech. Margaret immigrated to Canada with her first husband, Alan Marsh and young son, David, in 1967. They arrived on Salt Spring, taking up temporary residence at the summer home of Alan’s aunt and uncle, imagining they’d spend a year here. The pace of island life suited Margaret where she became known for her bright smile and quick laugh. After daughter Ceri’s arrival in 1968 the decision was made to make Salt Spring the family’s permanent home.
After Alan’s death in 1980, Margaret married Trevor Northeast in 1982. Their lives revolved around family, friends, their garden and their beloved dogs. The struggles of the last year were a contrast to the happiness of their time together. They loved crossword puzzles, scrabble, cribbage and, in the absence of a game, asking each other tricky trivia questions about old movies. They delighted in close relationships with their grandchildren, through phone calls, shared holidays and that wonderful thing found late in life, Facebook.
Margaret is survived by her husband, Trevor Northeast, her children, David and his wife Debbie, Ceri and her husband Ben, her grandchildren, Dylan and Gareth Marsh and Esme and Julian Rahn, her nieces Sue Thomas and Mair Truelove and their families.