Margaret Joan Bagshaw

After a festive lunch with her family and a glass of Viognier, Margaret passed away Christmas evening at the age of 92.

She was predeceased by her beloved husband Denis (1978). She leaves her children David, Helen and Paul, grandchildren Leo and Matthew and her “favourite” son-in-law Michael Custode.

Margaret grew up in Glasgow, Scotland during the Second World War. She trained as a speech therapist at the Glasgow School of Speech Therapy graduating in 1952. After that she hatched a plan to move to Canada with three friends (all trained nurses) in 1954.

In Canada, she worked at Toronto’s Princess Margaret Hospital and St. John’s Rehabilitation hospital with both adults and children. She developed a program for laryngectomy patients, then worked with school-aged children and adult voice disorders.

In addition to her clinical work, Margaret made an outstanding contribution to the development of speech pathology and audiology in Ontario as the secretary to the Ontario Speech and Hearing Association. She was active in the early development of the Speech-Language pathology program at the University of Toronto.

She met her husband Denis in Canada and they shared among many things a love of good food and classical music.

Margaret never tired of learning, pursuing an honours degree in Humanities part-time at York University while working, graduating in 2001. She had a special interest in the origins of the old testament and her studies included a trip to Israel and Egypt where she rode a camel.

In retirement, Margaret was an enthusiastic volunteer with ESL classes. She took particular delight in talking with a trained speech therapist from Iran. Her travels included much of North America and Venezuela (which included a trip to the Amazon).

She continued to support the arts, especially the Orpheus Choir and Tafelmusik. She was an avid reader of novels, joking that her epitaph should be: “She read the book”.

Her humorous critiques & recommendations were appreciated by her wide circle of friends & family.

She described herself as a true Canadian to the end…though she never lost her Scottish tone nor her indomitable desire for independence.

In lieu of flowers, Donations in her memory can be made to the Canadian Mental Health Association or to Cystic Fibrosis Canada.

A funeral mass will be held at St. Gabriel’s Church 670 Sheppard Avenue East, Monday January 8th at 11 am, reception to follow.