Margaret White Parrish

Died, peacefully, on September 19, 2016 at Glacier View Lodge, Courtenay, British Columbia.

Friend, Lover, Wife, Mother, Grandmother, Partner, Occupational Therapist, Feminist, Teacher, Mentor, Fervent Scot, Inspiration.

Born October 12, 1935, Pointe-a-Pierre, Trinidad, British West Indies. Second daughter of William W., and Janet (Nita) M. Watson. Younger sister of Janet Henderson Smith.

Married, July 20, 1957, to Dr. Michael Parrish. Mother of Abigail Jane (Tom); Caroline Fiona (John); Dr. Adam Alexander (Liz); Dr. Jonathan Charles (Rhonda); Grandmother of Genevieve, Julia (Matt), Anna, Drew, Ian, Danica, and Joe. Step-grandmother of Rick (Joanne), Cory (Louise) and Chad (Angie) and their children Tyler, Jessica, Tianna, Ethan, Alyssa and Owen.

A private cremation has been arranged and a family gathering is planned. Feel free to share condolences in an online guest book at www.piercysmtwashingtonfuneral.com.

The family thanks Glacier View Lodge for the gentle, kind and responsive care provided to Meg and all of us during the last year. Meg, aka Mum, aka Grand-Meg is held in our hearts and will be loved forever.

Arrangements under the direction of Piercy's-Mt. Washington Funeral Home, Courtenay, BC.

Biography:

Margaret (Meg) White Parrish

Apart for a brief period around 1945 where she and her family spent some time living with family there, Meg never actually called Scotland home. Even so, she was a fervent Scot. In fact, heartfelt intensity, sincerity and passion were some of the traits for which she will be remembered. From her incredibly strong work ethic—Meg could frequently be heard to say, “If a job’s worth doing, it’s worth doing well!” and “Better do it now than wish it done!”—to the quiet but fierce way she loved, Meg never did anything half way.

Meg was born on October 12, 1935 in Trinidad, the second daughter of Bill Watson and Janet (Nita) McIntosh Watson. Megs, as she was known then, grew up on the island, perpetually within the sound of the ocean.

When Meg was ten, her father was called back to London and so, of course, his whole family went with him. They resettled in England and Meg attended a private school, Linton House, in Maidenhead where she rose to Head Girl.

Because that’s what Meg did.

She rose up.

Always.

And she lifted those around her up at the same time.

Upon leaving Linton House, and driven by a desire to have a career in health care, Meg went to the London School of Occupational Therapy (O.T.) where, at a Halloween dance, she met a medical student, Mike Parrish. Meg and Mike immediately hit it off and their relationship deepened and grew until on July 20, 1957 they were married. Their relationship spanned over seven decades (63 years) and a fair portion of the globe.

By the time she and Mike married, Meg had been working as a staff O.T. at Runwell State Mental Hospital in Essex, but after a brief honeymoon she and Mike set up home in North London and Meg went to work under her mentor, Marjory Collingdon at Friern Barnet State Mental Hospital.

Abigail Jane came into the world on June 18, 1958, and the little family of three moved to East Anglia while Mike did his intern year. In 1959 Mike was drafted into the army and the family move to the Camberley area. That’s where Caroline Fiona was born on March 26, 1960.

Not long after that the family moved to Malaya and Adam Alexander was born on November 17, 1962. Adam was only one when the family moved back to the U.K. with its cold lavatory seats and “hard” shoes for the children. Unfortunately, they weren’t there long before a crisis in British Guiana resulted in Mike being posted to South America with twenty four hours’ notice, leaving Meg alone with three children for seven months. Meg met and overcame this challenge with her usual class, skill and ‘can-do’ attitude.

In 1967 the family again made an international move, this time to Hong Kong. In addition to all her other responsibilities, Meg worked in a child care centre as a volunteer while the Chinese Cultural Revolution crisis surrounded her. After some time she began to suspect her “jet-lag” was being a bit too persistent and eventually re-diagnosed it as the pregnancy that resulted in Jonathan Charles’ birth on March 12, 1968.

After having her fourth child, Meg accepted a position as Head O.T. at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Kowloon, a job she held until her family’s eventual return to the U.K. in 1970.

Later that same year, on Labour Day weekend, Meg, Mike and the four children immigrated to Canada, settling in a small Alberta town named Westlock. There the family had to adjust to bitter Alberta winters and Canadian culture. Meg eventually became comfortable enough to drive through those harsh winters, commuting 45 miles to work at the Glenrose Rehab Hospital in Edmonton.

Though she worked hard, she loved harder, and her children have strong memories of all the extra effort she put in to make sure they felt loved and important. One example is that she would set the oven to cook bacon so that Abigail, Caroline, Adam and Jo would wake up to a hot breakfast even though she’d already left for work.

For two years she made that commute, and then in 1977 the family moved to Edmonton. Soon after that Meg obtained her Bachelor of Science in Occupational Therapy and took the job of senior rehab consultant to the Alberta Home Care Program.

After a couple years she left government service to work alongside Mike, as a counsellor, in his practice. Meg’s empathy, compassion and insight made her an exceptionally good counsellor and she rapidly established a reputation as such. At least one of her former patients/clients has described her as “one of my favourite people in the world.” He is not alone in feeling that way.

Meg and Mike always made a great team. In addition to working and raising a family together, they worked together in community activities including amateur dramatics, organizing the Westlock Water Polo men's team tour to England in 1976 and facilitating countless workshops and presentations on relationships and sexuality across the country.

Their children grown up and starting their own careers and families, Meg and Mike retired in 1994 and moved to Hornby Island—back to where she was surrounded by the sea and could hear its voice. There, even though she was retired, Meg continued to help people, acting as a mental health counselor and volunteering on the island.

She was a remarkable combination of loving compassion and fierce determination. A believer in equal opportunity and gender equality her whole life, Meg fought for those principles by word and deed from the time she was a little girl joining a boy’s gang, being a regular facilitator of Women's Sexuality workshops at the University of Alberta Women’s program and speaking passionately about the topic at every opportunity.

But make no mistake, Meg wasn’t all work and no play. She loved the theatre, hosting and going to parties, dancing, music, gardening and she was exceptionally creative particularly in pottery, ceramics, sewing and fibre arts. As a result, many feet were clad in her hand-dyed socks and cats were well supplied with felting balls.

The world is better for having had her in it and she will be missed and remembered.

She will be remembered for the sound the plastic pot that held one of her favourite snacks—crystallized ginger—made when she dipped in for a snack. For her unique and flamboyant handwriting, the hanky she always had tucked into her sleeve or pocket, the sound of her gold bracelets, and her smile.

Especially her smile.

Meg used to say that when people saw her smile they would either smile back or look at her suspiciously, like she was up to something. Mischievous as she could be, it’s very possible that she was.

But, mischievous or not, her smile was magical. It spoke volumes, but mostly it said, “I love you, darling.”