Margaret Elizabeth Rutherford (nee Paul), passed away peacefully on October 3, 2003 at MSA Hospital.
Margaret was born in Quinton, Saskatchewan on November 23, 1923. She grew up on farms in Hungarian immigrant communities in Saskatchewan and in Abbotsford, where her family moved during the early 1930's.
In Abbotsford, Margaret attended Mount Lehman and North Poplar elementary school and Phillip Sheffield High School. As an adult she was employed as a dietician at MSA Hospital in the 1950's.
In 1954 Margaret met Don Rutherford who was then serving with the Canadian Navy, based at the radio station on Matsqui Prairie.
Margaret and Don werw married at St. Ann's Roman Catholic Church in Abbotsford on June 2,1956. Their early married life was spent in Halifax and in Victoria, where their three children, Donald, Susan and Joseph were born.
In 1967 Margaret returned with her family to Abbotsford and with her children grown, she embarked on a new career as an activiy coordinator at the Cottage Hospital and MSA Extended Care Unit. In 1986, Margaret retired from the workforce.
Her later years were devoted to her two great loves; her family and St. Ann's, where she twice served as Catholic Women's League president, an office she held at the time of her death.
In their retirement, Margaret and Don travelled widely, touring through Europe and making regular visits to family in Canada, the US and the UK. Nowhere, though was Margaret happier than in her own home, with her children and grand children gathered around her. She is survived by her loving husband, Don, her son Donald (Madeleine Picciotto), her daughter Susan Harvey (David), her son Joseph (Deborah Wheeler), her grandchildren Matthew and Ian Harvey and Emily and Miranda Rutherford, her sister Dorothy Found and her brothers Joe Paul and Mike Paul.
Prayers will be offered at 6 p.m. on Thursday, October 9, 2003 from St. Ann's Roman Catholic Church, 33333 Mayfair Avenue, Abbotsford, B.C. where the Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11 a.m. on Friday October 10, 2003, Father Dion Celebrant. A tea in celebration of Margaret's life will follow Mass and will be held at St. Ann's Parish Centre. Interment to follow at Hazelwood Cemetery in Abbotsford.
Margaret and her family wish to thank Drs. Swenerton and Pike and the nursing staff of the B.C. Cancer Agency in Vancouver and Drs. Winner and Bale and the nursing staff of MSA Hospital for the excellent care she received. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in her name to the B.C. Cancer Foundation, Suite 200 - 601 West Broadway, Vancouver, B.C. V5Z 4C2
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