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WWII vet turns 100 this November Featured
The easiest way to lead an interesting life is to keep your eyes, ears and heart open.
Marion MacKinnon has done just that.
Born in the Roaring Twenties, she attended Queen’s University in the 1940s and remained involved with Queen’s her entire life. After graduation, she joined the Women’s Royal Naval Service (WRNS) to help the Allied Forces win WWII.
Following the war, Marion attended Osgoode Hall Law School, which was a rarity for women back then, and became a lawyer. Although she never practiced law, she raised four children and spent her free time helping others through various volunteer roles.
Soon, this exceptional woman will turn 100 years old at Carveth Care Centre where she has resided for the past eight years.
Speaking from her home in Gananoque is one Marion’s three surviving children, Joan MacKinnon, who remembers her mother as exceptionally detailed and community minded.
“She was a beautiful young woman; stunningly beautiful,” explains Joan.
“My mother was stationed in Halifax and Prince Rupert, BC,” continues the friendly 67-year-old about Marion’s time in the WRNS. “She was a visual signaler.”
According to Joan, her mother was one of a few women in the graduating law class of 1948.
Marion was introduced to her husband, Bill MacKinnon, through a friend while visiting Prince Edward Island. They married a year later and, after spending two years in Prince Edward Island, raised their family in Ottawa where Bill practiced law.
“They were very academically inclined,” says Joan about her parents. “Mom was always volunteering. She was involved in everything.”
Diagnosed with dementia and unable to recognize familiar faces now, Marion’s birthday will be a quiet affair on Nov. 4, 2020. Her family say they are just grateful for the opportunity to celebrate the life of this remarkable woman.
“It’s really tough to plan something because of the pandemic restrictions,” says Joan. “We would have loved to have a big birthday party for her. It is frustrating, but that’s COVID. Unfortunately, there’s very little we can do other than to recognize her remarkable life and send our love from afar.”
Carveth Care Centre is honoured to celebrate the 100th birthday of Marion MacKinnon on Nov. 4. To learn more about living or working in our home, please call 613-382-4752.