Margaret Roy
April 28, 1941 – July 21, 2013
Margaret, much loved and cherished wife, mother, grandmother, sister, and friend passed away in the ICU at Nanaimo Regional General Hospital on Sunday, July 21st after a short battle with leukemia.
Margaret was born in Antrim, Northern Ireland on April 28th, 1941 to Robert and Elizabeth Allen. She was welcomed with open arms by sister, Roberta and brothers, Mitchell and Wallace. Roberta was particularly delighted at finally having a baby sister. As second baby sister, Janet, arrived a few years later to complete the Allen family.
After Primary School, Margaret won a scholarship to Ballymena Academy and later a second scholarship to Queens University in Belfast. Achieving her teaching qualifications, Margaret taught English in France and it was there that she meet her first husband Graham May. He was a Welshman from Cardiff on tour with his rugby team, and he naturally assumed at their first meeting that Margaret was French. It was several days before Margaret revealed her true nationality and that she was in fact English speaking. Margaret and Graham were married and settled in Cardiff to raise their two children, Laura and Philip. The marriage lasted nearly 30 years before ending amicably.
Margaret had visited her sister and brother-in-law Roberta and Denis Cole several times in Qualicum but on one visit she met a widower Stanley Roy. Lightning struck, they fell in love, and the rest is history. Stan and Margaret were married on a snowy day in March of 1997 and had to follow a snow plough over the Malahat to reach their honeymoon hotel in Victoria.
Margaret very quickly embraced her new Canadian life with Stan in Qualicum Beach. Even though she played neither golf nor bridge, she kept busy making new friends at the newly opened Senior’s Activity Centre. She became a very active, hands-on member and was elected President in 2005. She was also much involved with The Echo Players and was particularly valued for her costume making skills. Most recently, Margaret became a volunteer working in the Qualicum Beach Community Policing Office.
Margaret and Stan loved to travel and also both looked forward to, and greatly enjoyed, the annual summer visits from her Welsh grandchildren, Rhys and Erin.
Sadly, Stan died in December 2010 and now Margaret has gone to join him in Heaven. She will be greatly missed by her family and friends both in the UK and in Canada.
A Celebration of Life and farewell reception will be held in Margaret’s honour at the Senior’s Centre in Qualicum Beach. Date and time to be announced.
To send a condolence to the family please visit www.yatesfuneral.ca
YATES FUNERAL SERVICE & CREMATORIUM (250-248-5859) in care of arrangements.