MCDONALD, Joan Enid

Posted: March 8th, 2022

Joan Enid McDonald

1920 – 2022

On Monday, February 28, 2022, Joan Enid McDonald passed in her sleep of natural causes at the age of 101.

Joan was born on September 16, 1920 to Sydney Saxby and Enid (Field) Saxby in Clacton-on-Sea, Essex, England. She was the dearly loved mother of Jacquelynne (Ken) Young of Lethbridge, Suzan (Michael) Alexander of Ann Arbor, Michigan, Jennifer (Bruce) Heron of Motueka, New Zealand, and Marty Schacht of Calgary; Grandmother of Robyn Schacht of Calgary and Kimberley Schacht of Victoria, BC; and Great-Grandmother of Rianne Robar of Calgary. Extended family include nieces in England and Ontario and their families.

While living in Lymington, Hampshire during WWII, on the south-east coast of England, Joan was asked to attend a tea dance put on to entertain the Canadian soldiers who were stationed there for training. William “Sandy” McDonald, of the 48th Highlanders Regiment out of Toronto, took one look and wanted to have every dance with her. They married in 1943 before he was shipped out to Sicily for the Italian campaign, and they danced together for 46 years until he passed in 1989.

In 1945, Joan left her mother, two sisters and all that was familiar to sail on a ship provided by the Canadian government to bring British war brides to Canada. On arriving in Ontario, she was met by Sandy’s family as he was still fighting the war in Holland. They lived in Ontario until 1950 when they moved to Alberta with their two daughters and welcomed two more daughters within another 4 years. Joan quickly made long-lasting friendships with a close circle of other English war brides. They would have afternoon teas together that included a glass or two of Harvey’s Bristol Cream Sherry, and Joan would make the most wonderful eclairs and creme puffs which the children were warned had been counted so not to even think of sneaking one.

Joan worked for many years as the Ward Clerk on the pediatric ward at St. Michael’s Hospital and then as receptionist and office manager for Dr. Duncan Brown, a local plastic surgeon. Working full-time and raising four children left little time for relaxation, but Joan would still find opportunities to work in her beautiful flower garden. She was a voracious reader, an interest she passed on to all four daughters. She loved to travel and would go to England to see her family, to New Zealand, Michigan and Calgary to visit her daughters, and to a number of European countries, Hawaii and Australia. After retirement, she and Sandy would escape the Alberta winters in Hemet, California until his passing. She liked to sing along with the radio, off-key but enthusiastically. She was an elegant lady who would never leave the house unless well-dressed and wearing fresh lipstick. She would have liked to learn how to fly, but finances and obligations never allowed it. Joan celebrated her 100th birthday with a party and was tickled to receive congratulations from Prime Minister Trudeau, the Governor-General, and Queen Elizabeth II.

At Joan’s request, there will be a private cremation with no service. A memorial event will be arranged at a later date.

Donations to a charity of one’s choice are encouraged in place of flowers which are gratefully declined.

Joan had, in her own words, a wonderful life. She was a generous, kind, and caring woman who could laugh at herself and with others. She constantly reminded her family that they were loved and while we are grateful that she was such a big part of our lives for so long, she will be greatly missed.

Joan leaves us all with some lines taken from one of her favorite poems:

 

Do not stand at my grave and weep,

I am not there, I do not sleep.

 

I am in a thousand winds that blow,

I am the softly falling snow.

I am the gentle showers of rain,

I am the fields of ripening grain.

 

I am in the birds that sing,

I am in each lovely thing.

Do not stand at my grave and cry,

I am not there. I did not die.

 

Visit www.mbfunerals.com to send a condolence.