Margaret Mullie

Margaret was born in Kawa Kawa Bay of Islands to John and Mary Haste.  Her father had rejoined the Navy and her mother operated their dairy farm near Keri Keri.  Margaret joined the family with her brother John and sister Jill.

After the war they moved to another dairy farm at Wangarie.  They moved again when Margaret was a teenager to Taypry Bay, Bay of Islands and raised sheep.  Margaret said it was great growing up with calves, cows, horses, dogs and neighbouring children free to wander.

After high school Margaret went to secretarial college in Auckland.  After graduating Margaret moved to Sydney, Australia and worked for Standard Oil.  On holidays Margaret and a Canadian friend drove north and made the newspapers.  They had slept outside and a snake had wrapped itself around Dody’s legs to keep warm.

Margaret came to Canada and stayed with Dody in Edmonton till the cold moved her to Virginia.  She visited a friend in Toronto and stayed.  In Toronto Margaret worked for the Toronto Dominion Bank.

On one trip from New Zealand Margaret sat beside Steve McQueen and pretended she didn’t know who he was.  Steve told her all about motorcycles.

In February 1974 Margaret boarded the train in Vancouver on her return from holidays in California.  I was on that train and we talked a lot until Regina.  We wrote and a year later Margaret moved to Regina.  We moved to Toronto in 1976 and stayed till the spring of 1977.  Edward and I had purchased the neighbours farm.  We got married on April 20, 1980.  We also went to New Zealand and a few years later for nephew Sinclair’s wedding to Jane. 

In 1985 Simon arrived.  In 1986 drought and high interest rates made us move back to Regina.  After the farm Margaret worked various jobs for office overload.  Then moved to the Sears Call Centre.  When the call centre closed she went to Walmart.

A few years ago, Margaret helped her brother move to a senior’s centre.  He has now passed.

Margaret is survived by her husband John; son Simon; Margaret’s sister Jill Hughes has a farm near Lincoln College outside of Christ Church, New Zealand and her son Sinclair is married to Jane and they have one boy named Sam and two girls Harriet and Libby; nephew Peter; niece Jane; as well as numerous extended family and friends.