Margaret Ann Kerr-Lawson

The family of Margaret Ann (née Cowie) Kerr-Lawson sadly announce her gentle passing at the South Bruce Grey Health Centre, Kincardine on Sunday, March 17th, 2024.

Margaret was born in Yorkton, Saskatchewan on December 8th, 1936, to Gwen (née Hamilton) and Wilson Cowie. Her prairie roots were established at birth and remained close to her heart her entire life. The Cowie family moved frequently as her father's career with Massey-Ferguson took them to Saskatoon, London, Ontario and eventually Toronto where Marg graduated from Runnymede High School.

After high school, she graduated from the Wellesley Hospital School of Nursing in 1958, and her classmates there became steadfast, life-long friends. She met and married Angus, and they moved to Waterloo where he was one of the early lecturers in the Department of Mathematics at the newly formed University of Waterloo. The birth of daughters Leslie and Kate followed, and the family moved to Dundas, Ontario and then Boston as Angus completed his PhD and post doctoral studies.

Although Waterloo was always home base, Angus took the family on his sabbatical leaves to Kyoto, Japan and Marg cherished her time there embracing the Japanese culture and language. Travel was a passion shared by Marg and Angus through their many years together.

Marg earned her BA at the University of Waterloo in 1968 and went on to have a successful career working in the Department of Coordination and the School of Optometry. The colleagues and friends that both Marg and Angus made over their many years at the University were cherished.

After the untimely passing of Angus in 2011, Marg kept busy volunteering, taking Third Age Learning classes, enjoying trips to Stratford with friends, attending the Dharma Centre in Waterloo and travelling to visit family.

Marg loved to spend time knitting and reading. Her cherished bookclub friends enriched her life beyond the many books they shared together.

Marg leaves behind her daughters Leslie and Kate, sons-in-law Steve and Jon and beloved grandchildren Andrea (Riley), Matt, Jamie, Charlotte and great-grandchildren Viola and Levon, her sister Barbara (Ralph) and nephews Doug and David, niece Heather and sister-in-law Jessie.

The family would like to thank Dr. Gurbin, the compassionate nurses and the staff at Trillium Court in Kincardine, Ontario for the care she received there over the past year.

A Celebration of Life will be held in Waterloo in the early summer, details will be published when finalized.

Donations in her memory can be made to the University of Waterloo School of Optometry and Vision Science or the Kincardine and Community Health Care Foundation.

"Give sorrow words: the grief that does not speak

Whispers the o'er-fraught heart and bids it break."

MacBeth 4,3,

William Shakespeare