Marjorie Leahey

Marjorie (Browne) Leahey of Halifax died Wednesday, May 27, 2015, at her daughter Shelagh’s home in Port Maitland, Nova Scotia. Marjorie was born in St. John’s Newfoundland to Mary (Harris) Browne and William J. Browne, November 5, 1925. She had one sister, Madeleine (John Murphy), and two brothers, William and Peter.

After Marjorie’s mother died, her father married Mary Roche and they had a son, Edward, and a daughter, Antonia. Following Mary Roche’s death, her father married Mae Buckley Fleming (daughter Margot Ryan) and, when Mae died, he married Nora Elphinstone Renouf.

When Marjorie was twelve years old she began attending the Convent of the Sacred Heart School in Halifax. She later trained as a registered nurse at the Halifax Infirmary and she worked as a nurse in Halifax. Marjorie married Arthur Leahey of Saint John, New Brunswick, and the couple moved to Windsor, Nova Scotia. While living in Windsor, they welcomed a family of eight—four girls and four boys. She became involved in the work of St. John the Evangelist Church in Windsor and, after the family’s move to Halifax in 1962, with St. Thomas Aquinas Church and later St. Agnes Church. Marjorie was active in the Catholic Women’s League most of her married life and was a member of her church choirs. She was also a member of the Professional Engineers’ Wives and on the board of the YWCA. Marjorie loved the friends she made while playing bridge and was a member of bridge clubs in Halifax for more than 50 years. In her early fifties she attended St. Mary’s University and graduated with her Bachelor of Arts alongside her youngest son, Terry.

Family was the centre of Marjorie’s life and she, in turn, was the hub of her family. She loved to hear details of the lives of her children and their partners, her grandchildren and all their friends. She relished their successes and worried about their troubles. Marjorie’s only request of her family was that they care for her in her later years and the steady stream of traffic to and from her home was evidence of their care.

Marjorie was predeceased by her loving husband Arthur and her dear son Tom. She leaves behind her brothers Father William and Peter (Michelle Tercinet); her daughter-in-law Marion (Lohnes); daughters Madeleine (Howard Snow), Shelagh, Brenda (Harry Young) and Kathleen (Gus Nikoletsos); sons James (Ann Mann), Robert (Eileen Driscoll) and Terrence (Rebecca Lancaster); grandchildren James, Keya and Michael Leahey, Christopher (Sarah Moore), Megan (Julian Smith) and Nicholas Snow, Shawn, Matthew (Elina Kostopoulos) and James Leahey, Andrew, Allison, Elizabeth and Victoria Young, Adam and Eleni Nikoletsos, and Benjamin and Shai Leahey and Rachel Lancaster; great grandchildren William and Ainsley Snow and Elias Leahey; and many nieces and nephews in Canada and the United States.

The family is deeply appreciative of the care Marjorie received from Dr. Mary Sidhom, Home Care and VON in both Halifax and Yarmouth, and the Heart Function Clinic, Halifax.

Visitation will take place at J.A. Snow Funeral Home, 339 Lacewood Dr., Halifax, Tuesday June 2 from 4pm until 8pm. Her funeral Mass will be at St. Agnes Church, 6903 Mumford Rd., Halifax, (902-454-8200) Wednesday June 3 at 10:00am, with a lunch and reception to follow immediately in St. Agnes Church hall. The burial will take place at Gate of Heaven Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, Marjorie would be delighted if you plant a flower in her memory in your garden. For those wishing to make a monetary donation in Marjorie’s memory, please consider Covenant House, 20 Gerrard Street E., Toronto, ON, M5B 2P3 (www.covenanthousetoronto.ca), a charity Marjorie supported.