Obituary of Mary Marguerite Evelyn Forbes

In glorious memory of our wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother-to-be, Margaret Forbes (nee Morrison)

Margaret was born in Richelieu, Quebec, on September 11, 1929. She trained as a nurse at Saint Mary’s Hospital in Montreal, Quebec, meeting her future husband, Colin Edward Forbes in 1954. They married in May of 1956. Five children followed in the next five years, Helen, Geoffrey, Pamela and the twins, Colin (Sharon) and Julia. During that time, she moved with Colin from Montreal to Iserlohn, Germany for three years, lived in Jamaica with her three oldest while her husband completed a D.C.H. in London, England, then back to Canada for four years. In 1964, the family started a series of two-year assignments in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, then Lagos, Nigeria and finally Nairobi, Kenya. Then back to Montreal for a year and a half before moving back to Kenya for 36 years. Her last move was back to London, Ontario, in 2007 with Colin and two of her daughters and a granddaughter. She ran her husband’s medical practice for many years and brought up five independent, strong children. She also leaves behind Helen’s two girls, Jasmyn (Matthew) and Samantha, Pamela’s daughter Kelli, Colin and Sharon’s daughter Savannah and Jasmyn’s soon to be child, gender as yet unknown, due in September. In addition, her favourite nieces Barbara Gilbert, Cathy Wood and Anne Cook, great nieces Sherri Gonin, Debbie Gonin and Heather Pierson (Michael) will also miss her, along with nephew Robert Forbes (Claudia) and their sons, her niece Janet Phillips, niece Carole Crawford Merkens (Klaus), their children Daniela (Andrew) and Stephan (Nicole), nephews Vinton (Sandra) and Darryl Crawford and their children Andrea Firstbrook (David), Richard (Erica) and Alyshia Crawford (Mike Beuthling). The family in England includes her brother-in-law John Batkin (Norma, deceased), her niece Anna-Kay Brocklesby (Ian) and their children, brother-in-law Vernon Forbes (Ruth) and their children Joanna Mbong, Andrew and Maren. Other nieces, nephews and in-laws will know she loved them all.  

She had a wicked sense of humour. Some of her children and grandchildren inherited her final snort of laughter when she laughed hard. She taught some of them the fine art of sarcasm but leaves them all knowing that she loved them passionately in her lovely quiet restrained way. A great seamstress, she whipped up the dress she wore to her sister-in-law’s wedding two hours before the ceremony, mostly because she was busy cooking up a storm for the reception to be held in her house three hours later. Colin says she didn’t know how to cook when they married but she certainly made up for it later, throwing dinner parties at the drop of a hat for the unknown number of people Colin would invite on his way around Nairobi. She was the one who walked across swollen rivers ahead of the car to make sure the road was not washed away, got out of the car before Colin at a new house to see if the dogs were kali (fierce in Swahili), drove all five kids to three different schools every day in Kenya, arranged all the paperwork for Colin when his work permit needed renewing and in general, kept the family strong and healthy. She also cared for the children of her African staff, several of whom are named after her.

Her children knew that the raised left eyebrow was one thing but when those lips drew together and the nostrils flared, someone was in trouble. They also knew that if they messed up, she would support them without covering up or excusing any mistakes. She was pragmatic, funny, strong, supportive, economical, had great business sense and great taste.

She will be greatly missed by all of us. Thank you, Marg/Mummy/Nana, for a life well lived.

Wait, I forgot to mention how much she loved chocolate!!!

There will be a memorial mass on Friday, August 18th, 2017, at 6.30 pm at St. Kevin’s Church, 5600 Cote des Neiges Road, Montreal, QC H3T 1Z1. A celebration of her life will be held at Helen's house directly after at 108 Dufferin Road, Hampstead, QC H3X 2X9. In lieu of flowers, enjoy the best chocolate you can find, donate to a charity or have a good meal with loved ones in her honour.