Margaret Darke

Margaret passed away quietly and peacefully on February 1^st. She was 96. Hers was a life well-lived.

Margaret was born and raised in Cardiff, Wales. She was the fourth of Dr. James and Elvina McFarlane’s five children. All of Margaret’s sisters, the ‘McFarlane girls’ inherited great genetics from their Mother. Rae and Mary lived into their early 90s and Jean to her late 80s. Their Mother, Elvina lived to be 108. Ken, the only son, a RAF pilot was shot down in 1941 and unfortunately, his plane was never found. Margaret was survived by 5 children, 11 grandchildren and 6 great-grandchildren.

Margaret met her future husband, Reginald (Reg) Darke in Wales and they were married in 1943. They left Liverpool in January 1949 and sailed to Canada with the first two of their five children. Julie, the oldest was 3 and Adrianne was 2. Reg always said that he received a calling to move to Canada for a better opportunity for his family and to support the work of the Church of God in Canada. This was a commitment that Margaret and Reg had for the remainder of their lives. But getting on that boat to cross the Atlantic in late January with a young family and leaving behind her family and friends was the type of courage that Margaret showed throughout her life.

The family legend is that when they arrived in Halifax, they took a train to Winnipeg as they had some friends from the Church there. It was apparently 40 degrees below zero when they arrived and after 4 days in Winnipeg, they got back on the train and headed west landing in Vancouver. The family expanded there (Jeanette, James and Sheerah came along) and in 1967, the Darke family moved to Victoria. The moves were often Reg’s ideas, but Margaret made them work, made them easy for the family and created a comfortable new home quickly.

The Darke house always had an open door for people that needed a little assistance at some point in their lives. Maybe it was a place to stay for a period or a few home-cooked meals. Margaret had a gift for making family, friends or even virtual strangers welcome in the home.

Margaret developed lots of skills during her life. When something interested her, she would do some reading, get some training and then spend many hours practicing and always developed these skills to a high level. Knitting, calligraphy, home renovations, cake decorating were all talents she developed and used with great skill for many years.

But what Margaret was best at was how she always put others first. In her calm, quiet way she conducted herself with dignity and respect for others. She acted and behaved in ways that we would all do well to emulate.

There will be a small family funeral. There will also be a Celebration of Life for Margaret on March 6, 2020 at McCall Gardens, 4665 Falaise Drive, Victoria at 2:30 pm. Anyone that would like to pay their respects are welcome. Do not come to this celebration with any sadness. This time together will be for the recognition of a life well-lived.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Victoria Hospice, 3^rd Floor, Richmond Pavilion, 1952 Bay St., Victoria, BC, V8R 1J8. You can also donate at https://victoriahospice.org/how-you-can-help/ways-to-donate/ Margaret was a volunteer at Victoria Hospice for more than 15 years.

Condolences may be offered to the family below.

McCall Gardens
www.mccallgardens.com