On February 19, 2021, Mary Beaton passed away at her home in Saanichton, B.C. at the age of 95 years. Mary was much loved by all who knew her, and she will be missed by her family and many friends.
Mary was born in Calgary, Alberta on January 4, 1926, to Ralph Henry and Elizabeth Breed Goodchild. Mary grew up in Elbow Park in Calgary, and then went on to study nursing at St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver from 1945 to 1948. She worked many years at the Holy Cross Hospital in Calgary as an operating room nurse. Although she was an RN, she continued her nursing education throughout that time, including a stint at the Royal Victoria School of Nursing in Montreal in 1961. In 1973 she was awarded her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Alberta in Edmonton.
Mary attended Calgary’s Knox United Church and sang in the choir there for many years. Mary was a golfer and skier, and enjoyed family picnics to Banff and weekly family dinners throughout those years. She very much enjoyed her role as an aunt and had a close cohort of friends. She travelled to Mexico and in 1966 she and four nursing pals took an extended 4-month trip to Australia, New Zealand and other ports of call in the South Pacific. It was a marvelous trip and there were a great many laughs over the stories brought back from that journey.
In July 1971, she married Alexander Angus Beaton of Flat River, PEI, and they moved to Ontario to pursue jobs there, living in both Guelph and Toronto. Mary worked as a nurse at the Kitchener-Waterloo Hospital for a time, and later taught nursing at Conestoga College in Guelph. Then, in the early 1980’s, Mary and Al retired to Vancouver Island, first living in a waterfront apartment in Sidney, and later moving to Brentwood Bay. Soon after Al passed away in 1996, Mary moved to Saanichton, to the apartment where she lived independently for the rest of her life.
Mary built a busy life on Vancouver Island, enjoying the lack of snow and the lifestyle there. She was involved in St. Paul’s United Church in Sidney from the start, and enjoyed singing in the choir and working on many different committees over the years. She was also involved with the Philanthropic Educational Organization (PEO) where she helped raise funds to support young women seeking higher education. She enjoyed swimming and played a weekly game of bridge with a local club until the pandemic made that impossible. Mary often attended theatre performances at the Belfry Theatre in Victoria, and enjoyed a variety of musical performances whenever possible. She kept up on politics and world affairs, and maintained a keen interest in numerous sports, especially curling and football. Mary may have loved the Victoria climate, but she still always cheered for the Calgary Stampeders! Indeed, she also had an excellent sense of humour and was truly good-natured. But everyone who knew her will remember her best for her genuine interest in people and her ability to remember so much of what people told her in conversation.
Mary was predeceased by her parents and her husband, Al Beaton, and also her brother, Ralph Hibbard Goodchild, and sister-in-law, Evelyn Goodchild, of Calgary, Alberta. She is survived by her two nieces, Ruth Goodchild of Richmond, B.C. and Cathy Wilcox (Bill) of Joussard, AB., and her nephew, Jim Thompson Goodchild (Cyndi) of Calgary, AB., as well as grandnephew Symon Wilcox (Jaclyn Williams) and grandnieces Shannon Wilcox (Adrian Wawruck), Miriam and Naomi Goodchild.
A memorial for Mary will be held at a later date due to current pandemic concerns. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to the charity of your choice in Mary’s name.