Obituary of Margaret Clarke

Margaret (Margot) Morley Broddy Clarke

September 13,1929 - October 18, 2022

 

Welcomed into the world on Friday, September 13th in Toronto by her parents Barbra (Stephen) and  Hunter Broddy, Margot died peacefully at age 93 on October 18, 2022.  

 

Left to grieve their loss are her devoted children Andrew (Lucy van Oldenbarneveld), Beth (Laura Cabott) and Jeffrey (Kyla Cousineau) and her granddaughters, Ella, Grace and Anaiya, as well as her honorary granddaughter Jessica Vallentgoed and her family Dino, Parker and Scarlett Koenders. Margot lost her sister Victoria in 2010 and Alan, her former husband of 40 years in 2007. She will be greatly missed by her beloved in-laws, Ed (deceased) and Betty (Noble) Clarke, Mary (Clarke) and Haruo Kawai, Harriet (Clarke) and Jacob (deceased) Enns and Margaret (Clarke) and Sidney Tjepkema, twelve nieces and nephews, their spouses, children and many, many friends.

 

Always an excellent student, Margot attended Allenby Public School and North Toronto Collegiate Institute before graduating from Victoria College at the University of Toronto with an honours degree in Modern Languages and Literature (where she earned an A from her English professor, Northrop Frye).  Toronto’s Teacher’s College prepared her for kindergarten classrooms in Toronto, Vancouver, Scarborough, Ottawa and Arnprior. Margot left teaching to raise her three children, returning to school in her late forties to complete a master’s degree in Library and Information Science from the University of Western Ontario.

 

After a stint at the departmental library of Health and Welfare Canada, she landed the perfect job for someone known for her encyclopedic mind, attention to detail and love of Canadiana. She worked at Legal Deposits and was responsible for ensuring the National Library of Canada had copies of every book published in the country. On a favourite work trip in the 1990s she appeared on a MuchMusic broadcast of Farley Mowat’s impromptu 70th birthday party at a book fair in Toronto.

 

Margot was committed to her community, volunteering with Ottawa West Community Support, River Parkway PreSchool Centre, Dying with Dignity Canada and the First Unitarian Congregation of Ottawa.  In her last weeks she was still checking-in on church members as part of her responsibilities with the congregation’s Caring Committee.

 

Margot loved the arts and a week rarely went by that she wasn’t at a concert, theatre production, art exhibition, book launch or movie. With the restrictions of COVID-19, she embraced Zoom and continued to enjoy music, lectures and her book club. Until her 90th year, her busy and full life included outings with friends, choir, yoga classes, hiking with the Active Living Club, and playing bridge with same bridge club going on 60 years.

 

Margot instilled in each of her children the importance of being independent, making decisions that bring you happiness and spending time with those you love. Her most lasting legacy will be the foundation of love and support she provided her family and the strength and courage she consistently demonstrated through the inevitable painful ups and downs that life brings.

 

A memorial service celebrating Margot’s life will be held on Sunday, November 6 at 2:00 p.m. at the First Unitarian Congregation of Ottawa, 30 Cleary Avenue. In lieu of flowers, donations in Margot’s name to the First Unitarian Congregation of Ottawa would be appreciated.