Obituary of Mary Urquhart

Mary Urquhart (nee Wilson) passed away peacefully on August 12, 2024 at Victoria Hospital in London, Ontario. She will be greatly missed by her daughter Mavis, (Tony), Malcolm (the late Mary) and Duncan. She is fondly remembered by her two grandchildren, Emily (Alex) and Scott. Her husband David, who predeceased her on July 13, 2021, was also in his 93rd year. Mary’s life focus was teaching and love of her family. She taught adult education and also for the Salvation Army for many years. She was deeply devoted to her children and remembered all of them to the end of her life despite advanced dementia. Mary was born on May 18,1932, in Hearst, Ontario, to Mabel Annie Wilson who was a primary school teacher and Reverend Robert Vincent Wilson who was a United Church Minister. As the daughter of a minister she lived in many small towns across Ontario while growing up. She was fortunate to attend the University of Toronto at a time when very few people, especially women, had that opportunity. There, she made life long friends and met David, her husband of 69 years. They married in Toronto, on July 24th, 1954. After marriage, David secured a position at 3M in London, Ontario and Mary was happy to finally settle in one place and start a family. A modern woman, however, she went back to school while still raising her family and earned a teaching degree from Althouse College in 1968. For many years she drove off to work in her Volkswagen “beetle”, to teach evening courses to adults retraining for the workplace, often not arriving home until 11 pm. Following that, she earned her special education certification in the 1970s and took on a new challenge - teaching English to troubled teenaged boys at the House of Concord, which was run by the Salvation Army in Ilderton, Ontario. In retirement, Mary kept right on learning. She became involved in the Senior Alumni Program at Western University (although she was a proud graduate of Victoria College) and enjoyed writing and giving presentations on varied subjects from the cultural achievements of the Moors to the historical significance of the Punic Wars. She started studying Spanish in earnest after visiting Cuba and made wonderful friends through her classes, who, even thirty years later would continue visit her at Arbor Trace Special Care Home in London. Mary loved her family and her family roots. After retirement she worked industriously with relatives to piece together the family genealogy. She created beautiful needlework projects and loved to play her Baldwin organ, which was “instrumental” to our family Christmas sing-a-longs. Life-long learning also meant travelling for Mary, which she did with Dave after his retirement, to many interesting and faraway places. Always the teacher, after each trip she would produce a large photo album which included a well-written and detailed description of their travels. Finally, Mary was very physically active. Ahead of her time, she enthusiastically took up jogging and yoga in the 1970s, she enjoyed bicycling with Dave and her girlfriends, as well as cross country skiing around neighbouring golf courses and at the family cottage. Even into her eighties Mary was working out regularly at Western University’s Canadian Centre for Activity and Aging. Her greatest passion, however, was swimming. For many years she swam three times a week at the nearby London Aquatic Centre. But it was at the family cottage where she really loved to swim - across the lake with Dave every morning, bright and early - right into her eighties. Mary was blessed with a wonderful life and was devoted to her family, life long learning and helping others through teaching. She will always be missed by her family and many friends. Cremation has taken place and according to Mary’s wishes and a small family gathering honouring her will be held. Expressions of sympathy may be made through the Ontario Cremation Service at www.ontariocremation.com. If desired, donations to Victoria Hospital, London, Ontario, would be appreciated. We thank the many caregivers and hospital staff that attended to Mary and provided their support during her stay in the hospital. We especially thank all the staff at Arbor Trace Care Home for the kind and loving attention she received there during her final years.