Gilchrist, Margaret (nee Peircy)

Vancouver Sun: 2011 December 16

February 24, 1933 - December 13, 2011 

Margaret passed away peacefully from cancer at the North Shore Hospice. She is survived by her three sons, Angus (Julia), Ian (Anita) and Bruce (Vicki) and four grandchildren, Duncan, Malcolm, Oscar and Tashi. Her husband for forty-eight years, Aluin Gilchrist, passed away in November, 2010. Born in Sussex, England to Alfred and Winifred Piercy, she was raised by her mother in Storrington during World War II as her father was stationed at a secret radar facility. Margaret was a keen student and attended Southampton University on scholarship where she studied Romance languages, including an elective semester in Grenoble. Margaret taught girls' secondary school for a year but then decided to emigrate to Vancouver for brighter prospects. She crossed the Atlantic on RMS Queen Mary, landing at New York, then travelled by train to Montreal and on to Vancouver. In Vancouver, Margaret quickly forged numerous lasting friendships. She worked at the University of British Columbia Library before returning to teaching, taking a secondary school position in Coquitlam. She met Aluin through mutual friends and in the early days they enjoyed hiking and skiing together. Aluin and Margaret married in 1962 at St. Monica's Church, West Vancouver, and lived together from then on at Eagleridge Drive. Margaret was particularly active at St. Monica's Anglican Church in West Vancouver as a leading member of the altar guild for many years. She will be remembered for contributing her prized preserves to church sales. For her longstanding dedication, she was recently awarded the Order of the Diocese by the Bishop of New Westminster. In later years, after raising her three sons, Margaret worked as a substitute teacher, librarian and ESL instructor in the West Vancouver district. In 1986, she worked as a host at the Canada Pavilion at the World's Fair, once again utilizing her talent for languages. Margaret also volunteered weekly for over twenty years at the Crane Library, UBC, making audio recordings for the reading impaired. After a diagnosis of osteoporosis, she became an active participant in Better Bones classes. Margaret was especially fond of her friends made at the Gleneagles Community Center. Among other activities, including painting and drawing, Margaret was an enthusiastic member of her book club. She was also fond of cats, counting Abyssinians and ginger-tabbies as her favourites. The Gilchrist family offers many thanks to all who visited Margaret and who cared for her at Lions Gate Hospital and the North Shore Hospice. 

A Memorial Service will be held Saturday, December 17th, 1:30 pm, at St. Monica's Church, 6404 Wellington Ave, West Vancouver, followed by a reception at the Gleneagles Golf Clubhouse, 6190 Marine Dr, West Vancouver, at 2:30 pm. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Canadian Cancer Society.