It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Margaret (Maggie) Louise Collins at the age of 94 on September 4. She is survived by her sons Christopher and Patrick (Sherri), and grandsons Matthew (Haley) and Daniel (Lauren), as well as other family members and close friends. She is pre-deceased by loving brothers Robert and William.

Maggie was born April 21, 1932, in Prince Rupert, and was the third child and only daughter of John and Louise Manson. The family briefly moved to Salt Spring Island and Maggie later moved to Qualicum Beach with her mother, after the death of her father at the age of ten. Maggie spent the next eighty-four years in Qualicum Beach, all on First Avenue.

Maggie married at twenty years of age and raised her two sons. She later began working for Canada Post as a mail courier delivering to the rural areas around Qualicum Beach and continued doing this for the next thirty years until the age of seventy-five. She went back to school and studied at Malaspina College at the age of fifty-five to become a nurse’s aid after caring for her aging mother and volunteering at local senior residences. She then worked as a nurse’s aid in senior’s homes until she was sixty-five years old.

In addition to these two jobs, Maggie was the custodian at St. Stephen’s United Church in Qualicum Beach and volunteered at the church in many capacities. She taught Sunday School and was an active member of the United Church Women (UCW) and devoted much time and energy to supporting her church. Maggie also gave back to the community volunteering to run the Red Cross loan cupboard, which lent medical aids to people in need.

Maggie was the type of mother who showed up to everything her kids were involved in, whether it was baseball, music events or feeding a yard full of kids. She showed genuine concern and compassion for people in need, whether it was from health concerns, emotional problems, or difficulty with aging. She always showed up to help.

Thanks to the wonderful health care professionals at Nanaimo Regional General Hospital for their care and patience the past three weeks. Thanks also to the small army of close family friends who helped her for the past number of years and treated her like their own mother while her family was in Ontario. Her suffering has ended and she is going home to reunite with her parents, brothers and dear friends Cora, Barbara, and Frannie, where they can watch the Qualicum sun set over the ocean with a cup of tea together.