Obituary of Mary Catherine MacDonald

We are sad to share the peaceful passing of Mary Catherine MacDonald, 88, at Forest Hill Home in Kanata, Ontario on Sunday, November 21, 2021. She is predeceased by her loving parents, Hugh and Ida, her brothers Robert and John, and her niece Susan Harris.

Mary was trained as a Registered Nurse and worked for many years in both the hospital and corporate setting in Ottawa and Toronto.  She later worked as a real estate agent in Ajax and finally in Ottawa, where she returned to be closer to family and her many lifelong friends.

Mary is survived by 13 nieces and nephews, as well as many great, and great-great nieces and nephews. She was very devoted to all of them, and enjoyed nothing more than hearing their latest news or spending time in the midst of a boisterous MacDonald family gathering.

She loved all kinds of social events, was proud of her hosting skills, and easily made friends wherever she went. In particular, she remained connected with her close circle of childhood friends from Ottawa and her close work friends from her hospital years in Toronto. 

She was an ardent sports fan, cheering faithfully for the original Ottawa Roughriders, the Ottawa Red Blacks, and the Ottawa Senators. Her one exception to that Ottawa rule was the Toronto Blue Jays.

Mary loved travelling to sunny locations for holidays and could easily be recognized by her signature “hot pink” attire any time of year. She was fond of animals and a great dog lover, especially Milo. She proudly devoted a great deal of time to knitting blankets for babies at CHEO. She retained her great sense of humor and quick one-liners until the end.

In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of Mary can be made to The CHEO Foundation.

She will be missed.

Funeral arrangements will be shared at a later date.