Margaret Ellen Thompson

Margaret Thompson, our much loved sister, aunt, cousin, friend, and neighbour, passed away at home in Ucluelet, BC at the wonderful age of 87. May she rest in peace and enjoy her next journey.

Margaret was a proud third generation Ucluelet resident, with her grandfather W.L. Thompson arriving in Ucluelet Harbour aboard a sealing schooner in 1898. She is survived by her brother D’Arcy Thompson (Carol), sister Jean Drake, and brother Angus Thompson. She will be forever and fondly remembered by her nieces and nephews Catherine Brandon (nee Thompson) and husband Murray, Robert Thompson and wife Cindy, Virginia Ma (nee Thompson), Catherine Drake, Greg Vevers, Lee Vevers, Tracy Yurchak (Peter), her great nieces and nephews, Breanna Thompson, Braden Thompson (Kirsten), Christi Kay, Parker Kay, Janay Ma, Jonah Ma, Tyler MacKay, Jennifer Yurchak, Stephanie Yurchak, Zachary Vevers and Alex Vevers. She was predeceased by her parents Bud and Mona Thompson, Patricia and Fred Rhodes, as well as her brother Frank Thompson (Liz) and nephew Rick Thompson.

Many will remember Margaret from her years at Madden’s General Store (est. 1904) now operating as The Crow’s Nest at the foot of Main Street in Ucluelet. She began working at the store in 1959 at the age of 24, became owner operator in 1972 and was a community fixture until her retirement in 1988. She was an astute business person, with a quick wit and sense of humour. She supported her community by offering tabs to anyone who needed one, providing groceries and goods to her customers who often became lasting friends in the fishing and logging industries, in our Ucluelet First Nations community as well as her extended family, friends and fellow locals.

Other than a few times living out of town with relatives over the years, Margaret lived and loved her life in Ucluelet. She loved reminiscing about local history, was an active member of the Ucluelet and Area Historical Society, and thoroughly enjoyed long phone conversations with friends and family, unless of course there was a baseball game on the tube. How she loved her Dodgers. She also was afflicted with the cursed family sweet-tooth and chocolate (milk not dark) was her weakness. One of her pastimes was the weather, revelling in a howling sow-easter, always welcoming a westerly coming down the harbour and praising the local fog as it kept the heat down to “tolerable” in the summer. One of her strengths was her ability to dish out a clever, often biting, one-liner and it gave her great pleasure if you dished one back. Beneath her no nonsense, principled exterior she had a beautiful, humble, kind and gentle heart and those who had the pleasure of being her friend knew this deeply.

In her early years Margaret loved playing softball on the old school field (where the Ucluelet District Office is currently located). Her brother D’Arcy remembers playing catch with her for hours at their family home that her grandfather built down behind Madden’s. She was an avid reader, loved playing cards, badminton and bowling.

On behalf of Margaret’s family, thank you to all her cherished friends and neighbours for loving and supporting her, with special thanks to Ann and Wally Branscombe for their loving care. You all helped make it possible for her to enjoy the comfort and familiarity of her home in her later years. She was happy and content and we all feel a sense of peace knowing this.

There is currently no planned memorial service and for those who wish to remember Margaret we invite you to make a donation to the Ucluelet and Area Historical Society in her memory at ucluelethistory.ca or to the Fish Scale Fundraiser at the Ucluelet Aquarium. Please also consider sharing your memories or photos of Margaret at chapelofmemories.ca

Margaret was loved by many – to know her was to love her. She will be fondly remembered and deeply missed.