Martin, Mary Smith (Nee Menzies)
March 31, 1920 ~ November 12, 2010
Mary Martin passed away at Wexford Creek nursing home after a brief illness. She is predeceased by her parents, James & Sofia; her husband, Malcolm; her three brothers: James, Thomas and Robert, and two sons: Malcolm and Thomas. She is survived by her son, Karl; grandson, Ben Martin; granddaughter, Lisa Marie Martin; great grandchildren: Tory, Ashley, Marcus and Kayden; and many cousins, nieces and nephews.
Mary was born in Nanaimo, in a house on Stewart Avenue. She was the third of four children and, as her three siblings were brothers, Mary grew up as something of a "tomboy." She loved to hike, swim, and fish and once broke her tailbone tobogganing down a mountain with her sons.
Mary had two cousins that were like sisters to her; Dorothy (Dodo) Gannon and Anne Boroski (deceased) attended school at St. Ann's Convent with Mary. When her mother died, Mary assumed many of the household responsibilities.
In 1941 Mary married a young soldier from Alberta who was stationed in Nanaimo. Mary moved with Malcolm (Mac) to a base near Niagara Falls while Mac served overseas. When he returned, Mary, Mac and their firstborn, Malcom (Mickey), relocated to Alberta where Mac worked as a ranger for a short time. For the following years, she and Mac lived in houses that they built and sold until they retired and moved into an apartment that had been built on the same site as the house in which Mary had been born.
In 1949 Mary gave birth to her second son, Thomas, and in 1955 to her third son, Karl. Mary and her family loved to travel and often took long trips with the boys stuffed into the back sear of their Mini. Mary and Mac continued to travel after their children were grown, until Mac's death in 1984.
Mary lived a long, full life. She loved to read, and especially loved to garden. She always had a big garden and in later years, was said to have scared the tenants below her with the weight of her many plants on her apartment balcony.
Special thanks to Shirley Headey for the care she gave to Mary while she was at Wexford Creek
A Memorial Service will be held on Saturday, November 20th at St. Peters Roman Catholic Church at 1:00 p.m. reception to follow downstairs at St. Peter's Parish Hall.
In lieu of flowers, donations to the Salvation Army would be appreciated.