Wilhemina Margaret "Peggy" Specht (nee MacLaren), 1920-2010

[moon_custafer]

green_trilobite's mother passed away last night at the Versa Care nursing home. Once a talented artist and designer who corresponded with Buckminster Fuller (she had spotted a mathematical error in one of his books), and once had a radio play accepted by the CBC, Peggy had been in frail health and suffering from dementia for about two years. In keeping with her humanist principles, her body has been donated to the University of Toronto's medical school, and no funeral will be held, although an informal memorial get-together will likely be held in a few weeks' time. green_trilobite and I thank you all for your sympathy.

I've posted a short "Canadian History" vignette to youtube, for which Peggy did the animation - the figures are three-dimensional, cut and folded from heavy vulcanized paper manufactured as a liner for electrical sockets (she called these sculptures "Scoraform.")

Comments

[handful-ofdust.livejournal.com]

That's absolutely amazing. And that's really sad.

I know you guys know I'm thinking of you.

[crankydon.blogspot.com (from livejournal.com)]

Let us know when the Wake is; it's a great idea. My favourite uncle had one a couple of months ago for his wife. It was a great way to honour her life and thus console the living.

[moon-custafer.livejournal.com]

Was this the uncle who got married in his eighties to an older woman?

[crankydon.blogspot.com (from livejournal.com)]

Yes, she was 90 and he was a poor, naive boy of 80. Many "cougar" jokes were cracked. The wedding was somewhat famous locally. Here's the blurb from the Hamilton Speculator on it:

http://www.thespec.com/article/381499

Tragically, she came down with a somewhat obscure neurological disease two weeks after the wedding and died of the after-effects of it a couple of years later. My uncle was really devoted to her and it was he who badgered the doctors until they came up with a more specific diagnosis than "she's really old and wearing out". Typically, it was an intern who pinpointed what it was; I guess those guys have all of the obscure diseases still in their heads from their studies whereas the more experienced doctors have had all that washed away by decades of treating hang-nails and the flu.

[redeem147.livejournal.com]

I'm so sorry to hear this. Please give Andrew a hug from me.