Ann Vibeke MacCormack

She will be lovingly remembered by her children: Kirsten (Donald), Ottawa; Allan (Annie), Guam; and John, England; grandchildren: Tamaki, Ai (Marcus), Katrina, Fiona, and Niall; great granddaughter Sariya and her many nieces, nephews, and friends.

She was predeceased by her loving husband of 55 years, Professor John R. MacCormack; daughter, Elizabeth; sisters, Margaret Hodgkin and Elizabeth Hill; and her parents: Karen and Stanley Bailey.

Ann was born in Aarhus, Denmark, and spent her childhood in both London and St. Alban’s in the UK. She attended Berkhamsted School for Girls in Hertfordshire before receiving a scholarship to read History at Oxford University’s Lady Margaret Hall. Upon graduation she worked alongside Sir Lewis Namier at the Institute of Historical Research, where she met her future husband Jack. Ann emigrated to Halifax, Nova Scotia where she and Jack married in 1957 and raised four children. While Jack worked as a professor in the History department at St. Mary’s University, Ann worked in administration at Dalhousie University, where she took an active interest in university life. Ann was a welcoming host, an avid gardener, and a talented knitter and seamstress. She and Jack shared a great love of culture and history, and took great joy in travelling the world together, including one memorable grand tour in a Westphalia camper van with their four kids. Very widely read, Ann had an inquiring mind and life-long love of learning with a particular interest in English literature and language. She was a devoted mother and grandmother, spending countless hours in the garden, cooking, swimming, and reading with her grandchildren with whom she shared many fond family traditions. She loved her nieces and nephews, and had many life-long friendships that spanned not only decades, but often thousands of miles. Always brave in the face of tremendous difficulty, her father died when she was six years old and shortly thereafter survived the bombings of London where she and her sisters lost their home. In 2007, she and Jack lost their beloved daughter Elizabeth to Multiple Sclerosis. For many years, Ann was an active member of Canadian Martyr’s Church in Halifax where she participated in several committees including the liturgy committee and the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul. She took great pleasure in being a member of the Canadian Federation of University Women, the Jane Austen Society, and serving on the board of governors for Helpline. In the last years of her life, she relocated to Ottawa with family.

A Wake will be held from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm, on Thursday, May 4th, at McEvoy-Shields Funeral Home, 1411 Hunt Club Road, Ottawa ON.

A Funeral Mass will be held at 11:00 am, on Friday, May 5th, at St. Maurice Parish, 4 Perry St, Ottawa, ON.

Burial in Halifax will be held at a later date.

Memorial Donations may be made in Ann’s name to the MS Society of Canada or the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul.

The family wishes to send a special thank you to the staff and chaplaincy at the St. Patrick’s Care Home in Ottawa for their care and compassion and honouring the sanctity of human life in Ann’s final months.