After a brief illness, Maureen (‘Mo’) Mair left us gracefully at Queen Victoria Hospital, Revelstoke, on Sunday February 10, at the age of 69 years. Cremation, no service, no flowers at Maureen’s request. A memorial ‘garden party’ will be held May 14th, her 70th birthday. Contact the family later for details. Donations in her memory may be directed to the Revelstoke Hospice Society, Box 3133, Revelstoke, B.C. V0E 2S0.
Maureen was an inspirational teacher especially in her work with the Revelstoke Alternative Secondary School (RASS). She taught science and math to high school students in Manchester and Revelstoke for thirty years, after a successful first career as a laboratory chemist.
She was a gifted gardener, coaxing flowers and produce from raw bush and creating landscapes rather than lawns. Her domestic and craft skills included baking, knitting, remodelling, and cross stitch. She enjoyed cryptic crosswords, detective novels, cats, British comedies, Scrabble, Coronation Street, and a good laugh.
Born in Salford, Lancashire, in 1938, Maureen came to Revelstoke from England in the summer of 1979 on a visit and was introduced to Paul Mair. After a brief but intense courtship Paul and Maureen became engaged and she returned to her home in Manchester to sell her house and resign her position. They were married at the Revelstoke Courthouse on December 31, 1979.
Despite the culture-shock of moving from a large urban centre to a small town, from a country steeped in history to the Canadian frontier, she adored Revelstoke and embraced life here fully. She was universally admired and touched many lives for the good, leaving the world a better place than she found it.
Maureen is survived by her devoted husband Paul Mair, son Max Mair (Wendy), of Calgary, AB, stepson David Mair (Pam), brother Edward Simpkins of Burnaby, BC, sister Janet Atkinson-Grosjean (Garnet) of Point Roberts, WA, and legions of friends and former students. Her grandchildren and stepgrandchildren, nieces and nephews, will miss her greatly, as will we all.