Obituary of Margaret "Peggy" Robertson

A Eulogy for Peggy Good afternoon everyone. My name is Darren Adam. I'm Peggy Robertson's grandson.I want to begin by thanking all of you for joining us today to bid farewell to my darling grandma.Peggy was born Margaret Grace Sutherland, in Brandon Manitoba on December 3, 1924 and lived here all her life. She was the fifth child born to Will and Clara Sutherland and brought laughter into the world with her. She was the darling of her family. Her dimples and curls and funny little ways delighted everyone. Especially, because Peggy loved to perform.On Sundays, in the summer, the family often drove out to Lake Clemente for a picnic. The family car would be laden with kids, baskets of food, and beach gear. Rex, the family dog was ensconced on the car's running board. Peggy's siblings would prop Peggy up in the back seat, and she would sing song after charming song, to the amusement of them all during the trip.She could still be enticed to sing for family and friends in later years. Many of you will remember Peggy standing with her hands clasped chest high - festival style, a funny look on her face, hilariously singing "Glo Worm." For years, she and friends Jean Thompson and Marg Olsen reduced house parties to gales of laughter performing crazy songs complete with rolling eyes and goofy expressions. But they were always in key!After high school, Peggy started working at Gillis and Warren, and it was there just after the war, she met and fell in love with Atholl Robertson. They married in 1947 and had three children, Mamie, Libby and Mr. After Thought, Blair. For years, the family lived at 337 23rd Street, and their home became a magnet for friends and family alike.The huge backyard was perfect for family BBQs in the summer, and it wasn't uncommon for 3 or 4 families to get together, usually the Robertsons, Egertons, Powells and Pettis's. The women would crowd into the small kitchen to prepare all the fixings, the men would sit outside to smoke and advise Atholl on his grilling technique, kids would race around frenetically, and dogs would bark. If it got too rambunctious, Peggy would come out and roar "GIVE OVER!!" and everyone would settle down - for a while. As evening fell, good conversation and laughter continued. And Peggy was always at the centre of the laughter. She was just SO funny! Quick-witted, perceptive and hilarious, she constantly had people in stitches, and Atholl was her biggest fan. He'd laugh so hard at something crazy that Peggy had said that tears would stream from his eyes. Our family remembers one episode in particular.Atholl was grumpily carrying a huge armload of things to the basement for Peg when she called him back to add another item to the pile. He started back down, and she called him back again, for another item. His temper was growing by the second. She called him back a third time, and he was ready to explode as only Atholl could explode. With eyes wide open and a dead-pan expression, Peggy held out a broom to him and said sweetly, "Here, could you stick this up your behind and sweep the stairs on your way down?"AtholI totally collapsed in laughter and dropped everything he was carrying.The big backyard at 337 23rd was home to another of Peggy's loves. Her massive vegetable garden. She grew everything: beans, carrots, peas, tomatoes, corn, potatoes and cucumbers. Cucumbers that Peggy made into THE BEST PICKLES IN THE WORLD. Her children have all used her recipes, but none of them has been able to duplicate her results. Peggy would spend the autumn putting up jars and jars of jellies and jams, sweet pickles, mustard pickles, and all kinds of relishes, but the piece de resistance were her unbelievable dill pickles. Crisp, sharp, amazing flavour. To this day, mouths water at the memory .For many years, Peggy was a stay at home mom. That meant, of course, that on top of cooking, cleaning, baking and preserving, she undertook lots of community volunteer work, especially at the West End Community Centre, where she helped organize events, undertook fund-raising, and helped out in the canteen for years.She also took care of Barbara and Joanne Pettis, her nieces, while their mom was teaching. Pre-schoolers. Barbara and Libby usually played very happily together, but occasionally they got into a spat. (Hard to believe, I know!) However, when this happened, Peggy would always settle the squabble by having the girls apologize and shake hands. Shaking hands always worked. Their anger disappeared. Maybe the world could use more of Peggy's conflict resolution technique. In the seventies; after Atholl's death, Peggy went back to work and joined the staff of the Faculty of Education Library at Brandon University. It was a perfect job for her. It brought together her love of books, her interest in ideas, her organizational skills and her friendly, easy-going nature. Peggy continued to work at the Education Library until she retired. When she left, she was sorely missed. After her retirement, she began volunteering again, especially at a local Thrift Store. She also spent time with family and friends, especially up at Clear Lake in the summers. She loved her wee cabin on 4th Street North and especially loved the activity around the cook shack. People will recall her up early each morning to split kindling and start the fires in the stoves. Drinks at Happy hour and cards played under a swaying lantern at night Those were special times for her. It is, of course, impossible to speak of Peggy without mentioning her love of dogs. She always loved dogs passionately and was seldom without one. They were like people to her and, in fact, it was not unusual for Peggy to write letters that were purportedly from her dogs. One note that the family still has, was written from Rex the dog, on the birth of nephew Geoff Sutherland. In the note, Rex complains that because of the new baby, he is being ignored and suggests that if the baby continues to cry, Geoffrey should be put outdoors. Peggy and her dogs! First, there was cocker spaniel, Dixie, and then basset hounds, Roger and Jeanie, and miniature poodles Sadie and Jenny. In later years, when she no longer had a dog, she got her dog fix by watching the TV show, the Dog Whisperer. Peggy watched every episode multiple times and if, for some reason the show wasn't on when she expected it, she'd get quite put out, to the point of phoning the TV station to complain. Peggy was also hooked on the Antiques Roadshow. She was always on the look out at flea markets and thrift stores for interesting old items. She had a good eye and was quite knowledgeable, and could even recognize old silver hallmarks. Sometimes, too, she'd find ratty old pieces of furniture that people had dumped in back lanes, drag them home and refinish them. Our family has several beautiful heirlooms that we will cherish for years to come. Peggy was funny and friendly, good-natured and kind. She was also introspective and thoughtful. She read voraciously and followed current events passionately. She had a life-long love of baseball and caught every game she could on TV. She kept connected to her friends and nothing was too much for them. In return she was blessed with great friendship and love, and at this time, our family would like to thank the Powells for so often including grandma in family festivities. We also want to thank Nancy DeRoo for her years of friendship and kindness to Peggy. And we want to thank Laura Jean McDonald, a very special lady, who has been like another daughter to Peggy. Laura Jean, your love and support of Peggy has meant so much to us, especially in these last difficult days. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Most of all, however, grandma loved her family. We have always known we were the loves of her life and the beat of her heart. She was quietly proud of her children's talents, skills, accomplishments and strength. She loved her grandchildren deeply and was delighted in her great-grandchildren. Margaret Grace Robertson lived a good and loving life, a life of grace, as her name implies. And though she has slipped away from us, she has left us with full hearts and loving memories.Thank you.