McEUEN o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2003-03-22 published
DE CASTRO,
Mhairi
Angela McLeod (née
FENTON-
McEUEN)
November 30, 1918 - March 19, 2003 Mhairi lived in Ste-Agathe,
Quebec with her parents until she was five, when her mother died.
Her uncle and aunt in Scotland, Dr. and Mrs. Stuart
McEUEN, took
her back with them to St. Andrews, Fife. On the death of her
grandfather Dr.
HUNTINGTON in St. Andrews, the McEuens returned
to Quebec, Montreal, and Lac Ouimet in the Mont Tremlant area.
Mhairi was educated in Montreal and Ottawa, where she was a pupil
at Elmwood School for a while before finishing her education
at a private school in Scotland. She left the United Kingdom
at the outbreak of World War 2, but not before having an adventure
in France driving ambulances. In 1937 Mhairi accompanied the
McEUENs to the Canadian Arctic. Her uncle was conducting research
into the health of the Native people in that area. During World
War 2 Mhairi spent much of her time helping her aunt, Dolly
McEUEN,
run the Ajax Club for British sailors in Halifax. Many comforts,
and brief holiday respites were made available to the sailors
in private homes. As well, the club provided a place to go when
they had leave from their duties on board ship. After the war
the success of this venture produced enough funds to create fifteen
scholarships for young men from the United Kingdom These young
men were unable to attend university because of their service
in the navy during the war. Now, the McEuen Scholarship would
provide them with an opportunity to continue their education
at McGill University. The
McEUENs knew all these scholars well,
meeting them at the dock when they first set foot in Canada.
For many of them the
McEUEN
House became a home away from home.
After the war Mhairi lived at 'Ottir', the house the
McEUENs
built on the side of a mountain overlooking Lac Ouimet, Quebec,
until the late sixties when she and her aunt moved to Ottawa.
Mhairi married her beloved Henry DE
CASTRO in 1976, he died in
1989. Mhairi and her aunt created another scholarship for a Canadian
to attend St. Andrews University in Fife, Scotland, and this
will continue indefinitely. She cared a lot about these students
and loved to hear from them, their progress and successes while
at university and afterwards. Mhairi also maintained her interest
in the Fraser Highlanders of which she was a member. Mhairi will
be remembered for her generosity in providing donations of Canadian
artifacts to Government House and to the Museum of Civilization
in Ottawa, as well as to the Louisburg Fortress and Maritime
Museum of the Atlantic in Nova Scotia. Over the last years after
Alzheimer Disease took away the life she loved, Mhairi has been
cared for by Luci
PEREIRA, her employee, friend, and loving caregiver,
since the seventies. Luci headed the team charged with attending
Mhairi, and deserves our thanks and praise for her devotion.
Also appreciated is the compassion and nurturing of the nurses,
staff, and doctors in the Villa Marguerite. The Funeral Service
will be held at St. Bartholomew's Anglican Church, 125 Mackay
Street, Ottawa, Ontario on Tuesday, March 25, 2003, at 11 a.m.
Arrangements in care of the Central Chapel of Hulse, Playfair
& McGarry, Ottawa. In lieu of flowers we request that you may
think of making a donation to the Villa Marguerite or the McEuen
Scholarship Foundation.
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