Margareta Duncan (née Blanck)

Margareta Johanna (Blanck) Duncan, born January 5, 1927, perfected her life on Victoria Day, May 18, 2026. Surrounded by the love of her family, she ended her exciting life with fireworks in the sky and an alignment that night of a clearly visible crescent moon touched by Venus, and Jupiter overhead. Margaret will join her life partner Michael Bruce Duncan in the family plot at Beechwood. Mother to Karin (Bruce) and Erica (Greg), Omi to Veronica (Daniel), Katharine (Nate), Michael (Marie France), Brian (Judit), Daniel (Olivia) and Heather (Kyle), and great-grandmother to Beatrice, Oscar, Gordon, Forrest, Élian, Ben, Elena, and a girl and a boy baby expected. Grandchildren will always remember Omi’s loving attention and hugs. A celebration of life will proceed in mid August, with burial once the University of Ottawa fully honours Margaret’s wish of donating her body to science.

Margaret was a nature lover, spending pleasant vacations on her grandparent’s forestry in Vogelsang. She was always up before dawn, ready for adventure and to ‘keep busy’. She immigrated from England with her British soldier husband to Toronto in 1951, later moving to Ottawa. She had time for several careers: medical assistant during the war, dental technician, lab technician, saleslady, property manager, and then bookkeeper for 28 years in Wild Willy’s Flowers (with Erica). She loved opera, drew, painted, carved, did stained glass, and shared and sold her creations in her spare time. In the early days she enjoyed sailing and picnics at the ski hills. Margaret had fun in her ’66 T-bird and sporty Mustangs. One year she took her children out of school and travelled around the world with them, visiting almost every country in Europe and the UK, taking the former Orient Express to Istanbul, trekking overland to India, Asia, and then cruising to Australia and Hawaii. She lived in Beijing taking care of three grandchildren for months. Margaret wrote ‘My Exciting Life’ during her over fifty trips to St. Lucia, staying with a local family. As their hotel grew, they named a wing after her. She sang with the Ottawa German Concordia Women’s choir, and had summer parties around the pool and overseas trips to health spas with her girlfriends and the Frohe Runde. Her last seven years were spent with friends at Manotick Place Retirement Community, where she started a knitting circle, and enjoyed day trips (Dennis), Bingo (George, Dick), playing Rummikub (Olive), and Winey Wednesdays (Maureen)! Thank you to the warm family of friends and exceptional staff at MP (special mention to Cloe).

In her 100^th year she fell one last morning and was lifted by two EMS workers. She blew kisses to them on her way into the ambulance. She lived a very full and happy life.

A celebration of Margaret’s life will take place at the Beechwood National Memorial Centre a later date.