Margaret (Margot) Esdale

Our beloved Mom and Nana, Margaret (Margot) Dickson Hannay Esdale (nee Wilson), died peacefully on January 26, 2017 at the age

of 95, in Canmore, Alberta. Margot was a longtime resident of Edmonton and spent her final years in Calgary with her family.

Margot will be deeply missed by all she reached with her thoughtful, kind nature and instant camaraderie. She was a cherished matriarch whose legacy lives on through her family: son Peter Esdale (Janice), daughter Pamela Reilander (Ron); her grandchildren, Kristie O'Brien (Patrick), Kurt Ison, Julie Esdale (Jeff Rasic), Jennie Esdale (Shaun Smyth), and Paul Esdale (Shannon); and her great grandchildren Ashley Hart (AJ), Sean Dow, Dayna Ison, Jack Rasic, Wilson Ra-sic, Margaret Smyth, Iona Smyth; and great great grandson Taylor Hart.

Margot had a gift - it was genuine kindness. She lit up every room she entered. No one was spared from her charm; she had a smile and a chat with absolutely everyone she met. She always encouraged a playful spirit. If her children or grandchildren thought there might

be monsters in the basement, she challenged them to invite

them up for tea.

Margot was born in Dumfries, Scotland, in 1921. Her parents were Robert (Bob) Wilson & Ethel Wilson. Their family ran a very successful business, R. S. Wilson and Sons Wine and Spirit Merchants and they had deep roots in the Dumfries community. Margot was the spirited third child of the family following elder brother Joseph Irvine Wilson and sister Isa. Margot and her favourite little brother Robert Sinclair Jr (Bobbie), were often up to mischief when they were young and she always spoke of how much she dearly missed him after his death.

Margot came of age during WWII. Much to the distress of her parents, she chose to help the war effort by working in a gun powder factory and rode her bike home on pitch black dirt roads with bombs falling in the distance. During a brief holiday visit to Edinburgh, she met a dashing Royal Canadian Air Force Officer at Edinburgh Castle, George Esdale. They were married in Scotland in 1943 and lived in London until Margot became pregnant with her first child in 1945. George arranged for Margot to travel to the safety of Canada in a convoy. Margot bravely boarded an overcrowded boat on her own, chased by U-boats, and filled with sickness, to make her journey to Canada, arriving in Halifax

May 12, 1945. Still alone, as George remained stationed with the Air Force in Britain, she rode the train across the big, foreign country to meet her new family in Winnipeg, the Esdale's, who created The Esdale Press.

When George returned from the war the family settled in Edmonton and they had their second child. In 1957, Margot wanted to make a contribution outside her home. She found a wonderful position with the Western Board of Music at the University of Alberta.

George loved horses and in their retirement years, they lived on a small acreage in Stony Plain, Alberta, tending to gardens and animals, including their favourite horse Dark Fancy and loyal Collie dog Bobbie. As George's health failed, Margot continued the hard work of farm life. One Christmas eve wearing a night gown and rubber boots, she was even midwife to a mare, bringing a new born colt into the world. When George died in 1990, Margot moved back to Edmonton to be surrounded by many great friends and family. Strong and fiercely independent, it wasn't unusual to visit Margot and find that she had painted the walls and rearranged all her furniture on her own well into her 80's.

Margot loved the arts and was an avid reader, sometimes clearing out whole shelves in the library. You would always find her scouting out a good mystery. The librarians enjoyed her enthusiasm so much, they saved all the new mystery novels just for her.

Her secret to long life must have been a wee dram of scotch, a positive attitude and a truffle or two. A good lesson for us all.

If Margot ever saw anything but a bright side, she never let on.

Because of her, each of us that knew her, try to be a little bit kinder,

a little bit more fun each day.

There was never a moment when her family didn't feel we were lucky to have Margot in our lives. She will always be part of us and she will be forever greatly missed.

A celebration of Margot's life will be held in Edmonton on Saturday, March 4, 2017 at 12 p.m. at the U of A Faculty Club, Papaschase Room, 11435 Saskatchewan Dr NW, Edmonton.

All are welcome.

Services provided by Russ Reynolds and Bow River Funeral Service.